The Weight of Thy Sin
by Miserable Sentinel
Summary: A few months after Aizen's betrayal sees Rukia's return to Karakura Town. But soon, she and Ichigo discover a new enemy and another war that has threatened humanity since before either of them was born. Before they know it, they are sucked into the conflict, forced to fight for the safety of Soul Society, Karakura Town, and each other. IchiRuki/OC/slight AU.
1. Who are you?

**(A/N) Hey guys, this is MisSent here. This is one of my first serious attempts at a fanfiction. Please, if you have any constructive criticism, comment or PM me. If you plan to flame me, I really don't care; I'll end up deleting the flame anyways.**** I hope you guys enjoy it.**

**Mood Music: Anguish - Shiro Sagisu (Battle)  
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**princess in captivity - Shiro Sagisu (Short conversation after battle)**

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The teacher's voice was boring a hole in Ichigo's skull. How long had it been since this remedial summer course had begun?

"Dammit…what the hell am I doing here…?" he cursed under his breath for the umpteenth time. He turned to look at Rukia, who was sitting on his right. He mouthed, _Does your spirit phone detect any activity?_

Her eyes fluttered as they read Ichigo's lips, but she said nothing. Instead, she flipped a piece of paper over on her desk and started writing. Ichigo waited, expecting a short note, but Rukia kept writing and writing, and at some point Ichigo seriously considered sending her a note of his own: _You better not be drawing one of those damn pictures of yours._

But before he could realize that thought, Rukia had finished her incredibly long letter to him and had tossed it at his face. He grunted and winced when the teacher glanced at him. When the teacher went back to droning through the textbook, he picked up the crumpled ball of paper from the floor and unraveled it.

_I've actually been having a lot of Hollow readings today. Normally that's a problem, but right after I get the Hollow reading, the signal disappears. Like the day when you and Ishida had your competition, but more time in between each reading._

_Since this happened before and my spirit phone wasn't malfunctioning then, I think it's safe to say that something is happening that neither of us is aware of. It's not another Shinigami, because I can't detect any traces of reiatsu, and my spirit phone didn't alert me of any Soul Society to Earth transitions._

_There's something else, though. I've been sensing bursts of energy right before the Hollow signals disappear. It's not reiatsu. That means someone's destroying the Hollows without spiritual power. The spirit phone calculated the general strength of the energy bursts, and if the calculations are correct, the source of the bursts has a level of power comparable to a captain's, at the very least. I've already requested Renji to be sent to the real world just in case you need a little help against this possible captain-level threat._

_The feel of the energy is odd, though, and it worries me. I don't think I've ever felt anything like it. Be on your guard today._

Ichigo looked up at Rukia, worry lines creasing his forehead. Rukia, however, was looking straight ahead at the front of the classroom, with an apparently avid focus on the lesson at hand.

Ichigo re-crumpled the message after writing one of his own and tossed it at Rukia: _I'm leaving now. If you're going to follow me, wait for me at my house._

Ichigo tossed it at Rukia while standing up and called, "Sensei! There's been an emergency at my house. I got a message from my father. Please let me go."

"Get out, Kurosaki," the teacher said, without so much as looking up from the textbook. By the time Ichigo had stepped out of the classroom, the pace of the lecture had recovered, as if there were no interruption.

Ichigo leapt around Karakura Town, keeping an eye out for any Hollow appearances, hoping that his immense reiatsu would attract the Hollows to his location, which would help him figure out what exactly was lurking in the town.

He passed over a particularly dark street and ground to a halt. He turned and landed on a rooftop next to the street in a crouch and peered down. It was empty, but Ichigo felt the traces of a very dense power. It wasn't the reiatsu of a Hollow, nor did it feel like Shinigami reiatsu. He felt something incredibly dark about the energy, and thought of his inner hollow. Could it be a person with an inner hollow like him?

_No_, he thought, remembering his insane parallel spirit. _I know what that kind of energy feels like. This isn't it._ He furrowed his brows, trying to understand the unknown with little success.

He stood up and looked around, just in time to see a black vortex open in the blue sky. A primitive Garganta.

He whipped Zangetsu out of its cloth sheath and held it at the ready, in case the Hollow came straight for him. It skittered out of the Garganta, and once the hole closed, it let loose a powerful Hollow roar. Ichigo furrowed his brows. How long had it been since he last heard that sound?

_No time to think back, Ichigo_. _Watch carefully. Our culprit may be anywhere_.

The Hollow somehow seemed to ignore him, looking off in the opposite direction. And that's when Ichigo felt it. The same energy he had felt from the dark street, but greater in strength. Sweat formed at his temples, and he swallowed hard. The energy was heavy.

The Hollow must have felt the same energy and swiftly loped off to the source. Ichigo made to follow it, careful to keep quiet and hoping that the Hollow would not realize it was being tailed.

Ichigo leapt up higher when the Hollow stopped, keeping himself afloat with his reiatsu, so that he could see into the town's streets and see the source of the foreign energy. While he wouldn't be able to make out any details, perhaps he would be able to—.

Ichigo's train of thought was cut off by electrical crackling. He saw the Hollow spasmodically twitching, and saw that a stream of black electricity was coursing into its mask. He tried to make out the source, but all he saw was a bandaged hand pointing up at the Hollow, and realized that the electricity was emanating from the two extended fingers of the hand.

Ichigo watched as the black lightning consumed the Hollow completely, disintegrating it and causing spirit particles to rush in every which direction. He faintly heard the figure speak, and it said, "How weak. These things can't be what I'm looking for."

Ichigo knew he had to confront this figure and discern whether he was friend or foe. He activated his Bankai on the way down, knowing that the explosion of black reiatsu would alert the mysterious figure to his presence but not caring, as he was planning on making his existence known either way.

He landed with a loud crunch, cracking the street beneath him and sending plumes of dust shooting up into the air. He straightened and swung Tensa Zangetsu, clearing most of the dust clouds away.

The stranger was wearing a thick black coat with a high collar that covered most of his neck, and wore baggy, light-blue jeans. When he turned to face Ichigo, he saw that his hair was of medium length, covering his ears and completely obscuring his right eye. His exposed eye was steel blue and had a hard glint to it, and Ichigo didn't have to think hard to understand what that signified: this guy was going to be a tough nut to crack, ally or not.

"Who are you?" he asked, straight to the point.

The stranger gave him a once-over before replying, "Why don't you answer that question first, spirit?"

Ichigo answered lowly, "I asked first."

"I am Mathis Jericho," he replied. "I've moved here today, and already I've seen a myriad of strange creatures."

Ichigo began to explain, "They're called Hollows, and they eat—."

"Do you know what my policy is, spirit?" the stranger cut him off. "On dealing with spiritual entities that I'm not familiar with, that is."

Ichigo didn't answer, but a part of him seemed to understand the veiled threat and without thinking, he propelled himself into the air with Tensa Zangetsu at the ready.

"Very good; you are capable of deduction. Let's see if your fighting prowess," he said, dropping to the ground in a deep crouch, "matches the level of that mental ability."

At that moment Ichigo knew that this meeting would not be resolved with words, and pulled his sword back behind him. He yelled, "Getsuga Tenshou!" and swung the black blade through the air, hurling the bolt of reiatsu at Mathis.

He gaped for a moment when he saw the boy swat the attack aside with his bandaged hand. "Pathetic." _How the hell did he do that?_ Ichigo wondered frantically.

Ichigo scowled and stored a Getsuga within Tensa Zangetsu. When Mathis had come within range, Ichigo hacked at his side, retaining some of his reiatsu within the blade of his sword.

Mathis raised his hand and easily blocked the blow with his other hand, which was also wrapped in bandages, even knocking the sword back a little bit. His visible eye narrowed, and he growled, "If you don't quit fooling around, you're going to die in the next few seconds."

Ichigo's felt a twinge of fear clutch his chest and swore, "Don't screw with me!" and engaged Mathis in rapid-fire close-quarters combat. But Ichigo felt himself being pushed back again and again. The way Mathis fought was too unique. He somehow managed to dodge all of Ichigo's slashes and stabs, and knocked his blade aside whenever Ichigo thought he had him cornered with Tensa Zangetsu, just with a bandaged hand.

Mathis became more and more irritated by the second. Eventually he decided aloud, "You bore me. I'm going to end this right now."

He blocked another one of Ichigo's strikes and leapt backwards onto the closest rooftop. He straightened on a rooftop and raised his right hand to his face, palm facing down. He murmured, "Corruption, Needle Sharp."

Ichigo didn't understand the words he was saying, assuming that they were part of a chant for some form of spell or kido, and rushed forth to keep him from finishing.

He saw four black orbs crackle to life at the tips of his fingers, which Mathis had kept rigid, forming a makeshift spade with his hand. Mathis then crouched in an attack stance, sweeping his arm behind him and grunting, "Needle Sharp, Paralyze."

The four orbs coalesced into a long, tapered bar of crackling energy aligned with Mathis's middle finger. Ichigo frowned, unable to analyze what kind of damage the bar of energy could do to him. He raised his Zanpakuto as he hurtled towards his target, ready to fire a blast of energy at him before he could react.

"Getsuga—!"

"Too slow, spirit," Mathis hissed in his ear, suddenly alongside him.

_When did he get so close to me…?_ Ichigo wondered. He vaguely felt the energy pass through his arms and legs multiple times, and was surprised to feel all of them intact. He looked at himself and saw no wounds or bruises, but suddenly realized that his arms and legs wouldn't respond to his commands. He hurtled to the ground and came to an abrupt halt with a loud crash.

Mathis, still floating in the air above Ichigo, surveyed the damage below before descending to the grey cement street. He flicked his wrist, and the bar of black energy crackled and sputtered out. He alighted on a patch of undamaged cement and pocketed his hands.

"You're on a different league than those other things from before. Plus you look human and you have the ability of speech. Perhaps you might know who I'm looking for," he intoned, his eye narrowing in suspicion.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ichigo snapped, struggling to move his limbs, which were now nothing more than dead weight.

"I haven't even told you who I'm looking for and already you teeter onto the defensive. Perhaps your reaction is the product of a guilty conscience?"

Mathis strode closer to Ichigo and crouched, hands still in pockets. "Do you know a humanoid demon called Pride?"

Ichigo frowned and shook his head.

Mathis's visible eye seemed to drill a hole into the center of Ichigo's skull, as if he could discern the truth himself by seeing the inner-workings of Ichigo's brain.

Then, without warning, Mathis straightened and stood. He thought for a few moments and then began to walk off.

"Hey! Jericho! Undo this spell!" Ichigo called after him.

"It's not a spell," Mathis called over his shoulder without turning. "Relax."

Ichigo cursed under his breath as he tried to move himself again, but his unresponsive limbs refused to move. He decided to take Jericho's advice and tried to relax his tense muscles.

But then again, it was hard to relax at all after being trounced by someone who'd only used his hands against a razor-sharp sword.

* * *

"What the hell happened to you?" Rukia's shocked voice asked. Ichigo opened his eyes.

Rukia was standing over him in her Shinigami attire. A delirious smile spread across his face. "Hey Rukia."

Rukia scowled. "You must've hit your head pretty hard if you're smiling at me like that."

"Where's pineapple-head?" he slurred.

"Scouting the perimeter, making sure we don't get jumped by a Hollow or worse," Rukia's voice dropped to a whisper, "the guy that made you like this."

Ichigo remembered in a flash the boy with the bandaged hands, who had blocked and countered his every attack with little to no effort, the black bar of energy emanating from his right hand's middle finger, the hard glint in his eye that seemed to challenge him. The images snapped him out of his stupor like a splash of cold water. He struggled to sit up and found that he had regained a limited ability to use his limbs again. He flexed them experimentally and found that their movements were sluggish.

"Rukia, could you…?" he asked, nodding at his arms and legs.

She knelt and took his right arm in her hands. She massaged it for a moment, feeling for physical wounds. When she found none, she shook her head in puzzlement. "You should feel fine. I don't see any obvious wounds, and I can't feel any trace of kidou, so I can't do anything. To heal something, I need to know how it came to harm."

Ichigo struggled to his feet, and found that his body felt incredibly heavy on his trembling legs. Rukia leapt to his side and tried to steady him. "Be careful, Ichigo! You shouldn't be moving so soon!" she said worriedly.

"I'll be fine. Call Renji back; I'll be okay now," Ichigo grunted. With that said, he fell smack on his face and groaned, "Ow."

Rukia laughed softly and turned Ichigo over so he was face-up. "I told you, stupid. You shouldn't move just yet."

"How am I gonna get back to my body, then?"

"Well, Renji could carry you," Rukia offered. "Or he could bring you your body," she added hastily when she saw the word 'No' forming on Ichigo's lips.

"Yo, Ichigo. You got beat up pretty good, huh?"

Ichigo tilted his head back and saw Renji walking over, holding Zabimaru over his shoulder. He wore a smirk that said to Ichigo, 'You got your ass kicked, and I mock you for it.'

Ichigo felt in no way irritated by Renji's smugness. All he felt was confusion.

"It wasn't even a fight. It lasted about a minute, and he didn't use any weapons until the very end. Just his hands. They were bandaged, too," Ichigo mumbled.

Renji's smirk turned into a grim slash. "Could you feel how strong his reiatsu was?"

"That's the thing: he didn't have reiatsu. He radiated some weird force, but it was strong."

Rukia and Renji exchanged glances. "How did he fight you?" Rukia asked, frowning. "Was he a long-range fighter, a close-combat specialist, or what?"

Ichigo gulped. "Definitely a close-combat kind of guy. He wasn't even trying."

Rukia's frown grew deeper, and worry lines began to crease her forehead. "This is bad. Should he decide to attack directly at Soul Society..."

Renji snapped at her, "Quit thinkin' like that. There's no way he's gonna try to pick a fight with Soul Society." He turned to Ichigo. "Who started the fight?"

Ichigo said hesitantly, "Technically…he did. But I might have provoked him by landing in front of him with my weapon drawn. He saw me and more or less told me he was going to kill me because I was a spiritual entity that he didn't know."

Renji scratched his head and sighed, "Well, for now we need to regroup and figure out what to do the next time we see him. Urahara-san is waiting for us."

Ichigo struggled to get to his feet again, wobbling dangerously as his legs threatened to give out from beneath him. Rukia rushed to his side and tried to support him with her slight frame.

"I wish you would take better care of yourself…what could he have done to you to make you like this?"

Ichigo didn't answer. He just scowled and looked away.

* * *

"Ahhh, Kurosaki-san! You seem to be in terrible condition! I could fix you up for a discount price!" Urahara teased.

"Shut the hell up," Ichigo griped. "I just can't move my limbs properly."

Urahara-san stooped down and examined Ichigo's supine spiritual body, pausing momentarily at the four points that Mathis had struck at. Ichigo found himself surprised. _I didn't tell anyone that I got hit in those places. How did he know to look there?_

"Kurosaki-san…" Urahara said hesitantly, a smile of intrigue on his face. "Did your opponent hit you in these areas?" He jabbed at his shoulders and hips with his cane. Ichigo nodded.

"Was he using kido?"

Ichigo shook his head. "It wasn't kido. But it had some sort of short incantation. Nothing I've ever heard before. He said Corruption first, and then Needle Sharp. And then after that…I forget." Ichigo scratched his head with his right hand, which had already recovered.

Urahara scratched his chin and wondered aloud, "Corruption, eh? What could that possibly mean?"

Ichigo then remembered. When he'd first seen Mathis, he had dispatched a Hollow with black electricity. After that, when Mathis had used Corruption or whatever his ability was, Ichigo had heard an electrical crackle.

"Could Corruption be an electrical ability?" Ichigo wondered aloud. Urahara jerked his head in his direction and asked, "Now what would make you think that?"

Ichigo explained, "Well, when I first saw him he destroyed a Hollow by using a stream of black electricity, and then when he made the thing on his finger, it sounded like electricity."

Urahara eyes glinted. "Then maybe we can figure out how to counteract it."

He plopped down next to Ichigo's legs in a squat and thought long and hard. Then he called Rukia over.

"Kuchiki-san? Could you do me a favor and lend me your healing kido? I'm afraid in this gigai I am incapable of harnessing my reiatsu for anything aside from releasing my zanpakuto."

Rukia obliged, whispering the incantation for the spell. Soon, a small yellow box formed over Ichigo's legs and gently hummed.

Urahara then said, "Now I want you to use Way of Destruction No. 4 on the healing zone."

"WHAT?" Rukia, Ichigo, and Renji all exclaimed in unision.

Rukia sputtered, "Urahara! Don't take my kido skills lightly!"

"That's not the point…" Renji muttered under his breath. "Why would Urahara want you to attack Ichigo?"

Urahara whipped out a fan and hid his face. "Just do it. I guarantee Kurosaki-san will survive the blast with minimal to no injuries."

"Are you out of your MIND?" Ichigo yelled, trying to hit Urahara with his right arm, to no avail. "It's going to hurt!"

"Yes, it might hurt," Urahara said matter-of-factly, "but we have no other choice. We don't know if your other limbs will recover or not, and this may be our only possible way to help you."

Renji and Rukia looked at each other, then at Ichigo. Urahara continued, "The Way of Destruction No. 4, Byakurai, is a kido based loosely on electricity, hence its name, 'Pale Lightning'. The user's reiatsu is charged into electrical form and released like a bolt of lightning."

"The healing kido Kuchiki-san set up is a very selective healing process; unless the user knows what is affecting the victim, the kido is unable to take effect. And since none of you understand the full nature of Kurosaki-san's injuries aside from a shaky hypothesis that the injury is loosely based on electricity, we need to initiate a blanket-sweep kind of healing."

Urahara snapped his fan shut and pointed it at Ichigo. "Kurosaki-san! Quick quiz for you!"

Ichigo stuttered, "W-what?"

"If you are using a human-world computer and are trying to fix a virus that you don't understand or know the whereabouts of, what do you do?"

"….What?"

'You start a virus sweep, yes?"

Ichigo muttered, "Yeah…but what's that got to with this?"

"It's the same process, really," Urahara said. "Since the kido is connected to Rukia and Rukia doesn't know what to heal, we need to give her something to heal that's similar to what needs to be healed."

He pointed his cane at Rukia. "The kido you're about to use on him is the template for your healing kido; once it takes effect, the healing kido will sweep through Kurosaki-san' body and search for any other traces of electrical damage, hopefully counteracting the damages inflicted in his battle."

Rukia was silent for a moment, trying to absorb the information all at once. Then she looked up at Urahara and said grimly, "Understood."

Renji sat on Ichigo's functional arm, much to Ichigo's dismay. "You're not serious, are you? You're really going to use that kido on me?"

"It'll be over soon, you big baby," Renji quipped, slapping Ichigo's face back and forth. "It's not like you haven't dealt with worse injuries before."

Rukia muttered the chant for the kido under her breath, aggravating Ichigo more. "Hey!" he said, alarmed, "isn't saying the chant supposed to make a kido stronger?"

Rukia finished the chant and looked into Ichigo's eyes for a moment. He saw in there a sliver of pity in the normal, hard determination. "Brace yourself."

Ichigo clamped his teeth together and shut his eyes.

"Way of Destruction, #4. Byakurai!" Rukia jabbed her hand into Ichigo's left thigh and allowed the reiatsu within her to buzz with electricity and bundle together. She released the packed reiatsu into a beam that burned a hole straight through Ichigo's leg and sent electricity coursing through his body.

Ichigo muffled a yell of pain that was on the verge of punching out of his throat. The last time he'd been hit with Byakurai was during his fight with Byakuya in Soul Society, and it had hurt so much that he'd almost gone into shock.

Almost instantly, the healing kido began to mend the wound, accelerating the regeneration rate of Ichigo's leg. Several blue sparks played around the shrinking hole, and then suddenly a cloud of electricity was sucked out through the now-miniscule hole. Some of the sparks weren't blue, but were black, remnants of Mathis's attack. Ichigo grunted once, and relaxed his tense body. Rukia removed the healing kido with a whisper and softly called, "Ichigo?"

"I'm fine, Rukia. Don't worry," he responded.

Ichigo pushed himself into an upright sitting position with both arms and flexed his fingers. He checked his legs, and found that he could move them freely again, though they felt a little sore.

Urahara smirked, the satisfaction plain on his face.

"Well now, Kurosaki-san. I believe we know your opponent's choice of attack. And given proper preparations, we may be able to negate it. The next time you two battle," Urahara said, turning and walking into the shop, "you should have the upper hand."


	2. Aggressive Negotiations

**Chapter 2 – Aggressive Negotiations**

**Mood Music: No Regresar– Sagisu Shiro (Conversation to end of Short Battle)**

Ichigo rolled over a little in bed to try to make himself more comfortable, to no avail. Today his bed felt like it was made of stone, and his sheets felt like large, thick spider-webs that did little to warm him and tangled his limbs up.

"Ah, geez," he moaned to himself. "Why the hell can't I fall asleep?"

He sat up in his bed, rubbing the fatigue out of his eyes. He grabbed his Shinigami badge from its place on the desk beside him and squeezed once. With a pop, he came out of his human body, leaving it lying in bed as if he were there sleeping. He flexed his limbs and leapt out through the window.

The night air was cool on his skin, and he leapt on top of the roof of the house to enjoy it. Everything was quiet, with only a few chirps breaking the nighttime silence. Ichigo laughed to himself softly, appreciating the solitude. He rarely got chances like this to just sit back and relax without being distracted or disturbed. Being a Shinigami made his life more hectic when he went Hollow-hunting, tensing his muscles up and putting his mind on edge. Being a normal, human high-school student pitted him against thugs and forced him to put up with the silly antics of some of his friends.

He sighed heavily and looked up. He had never fully appreciated the night sky, and how beautiful it could be.

"Amazing…" he whispered to no one in particular.

Ichigo hadn't heard him step onto his roof, and was duly shocked when he heard Mathis's voice: "You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Ichigo leapt off the roof and reflexively pulled Zangetsu out from his cloth sheath. He spun to face Mathis, who hadn't moved from the spot.

"Relax," he said dismissively, sweeping the surrounding buildings with his gaze. "I didn't come here to fight you."

"Then what the hell _are_ you doing here?" Ichigo demanded, Zangetsu still at the ready.

Mathis gestured at the town around them. "To clarify some things with you, seeing as you belong in this town." Mathis cricked his neck and locked eyes with Ichigo. "If you want to go at it again, however…I won't say no."

Beads of sweat formed at Ichigo's temples. He couldn't fight Mathis here, not directly over the clinic. His family could get caught in the crossfire. He reluctantly lowered Zangetsu and straightened, but didn't loosen his grip.

"What do you mean by clarify?" he asked slowly.

Mathis swung his arm around him. "Everything. I've only just moved back to Japan from Europe, and having no intel in what appears to be some sort of warzone is suicide. Tell me about this place. Give me a lay-down of everything I should know about in this town, including those strange creatures you seem to be familiar with."

"You should explain yourself first," Ichigo snapped at him. "You came here without warning and attacked me with little to no provocation. Why the hell should I help you?"

"Trust me. What I'm here to do is for the greater good."

"For who? You?"

Mathis irritably replied, "No, for humanity."

Ichigo and Mathis glared at each other, before Mathis spoke past clenched teeth. "I came here under a flag of truce, _after_ I wiped the floor with your ass. Don't think I won't do it again."

Ichigo bared his teeth in response. "Fine. I'll tell you what I can. But after that, you better tell me your story."

"I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding here; I didn't ask you for your help. I'm telling you to give me information. You are in no position to make demands of me," Mathis intoned.

"Way of Destruction #33: SOUKATSUI!" cried a voice.

Mathis turned and raised his hand reflexively to stop the blast.

The explosion was loud, and Ichigo was thankful that humans couldn't detect spiritual energy or hear reiatsu-related commotion. Smoke enveloped Mathis and Ichigo saw Rukia hurtle towards him through the side of the smoke cloud, Zanpakuto at the ready.

"Are you ok, Ichigo?" Rukia asked, eyes quickly scanning Ichigo for injuries.

Ichigo responded slowly, "I'm fine…but I think you might've pissed him off." He nodded towards the smoke cloud.

A deep thrum had begun to distort the grayish cloud, and Ichigo felt vibrations course through the air. He braced himself, with Zangetsu at the ready. He wouldn't miss Mathis's movements this time.

To his surprise, Mathis did not try to rush at him with his blinding speed, but had chosen instead to leap out of the smoke cloud in a simple frontal charge. His hands were flattened into open palms and poised to strike. Ichigo swiped at him with his weapon with all his might, trying to slow him down or alter his course.

The blade collided with one of Mathis's hands and clanged off, vibrating uncontrollably. Mathis's other hand reached out and impacted flatly against Ichigo's chest, and he felt a powerful vibration spread from the point of contact, followed immediately by a deep, throbbing pain, like he'd been socked in the stomach with a sledgehammer.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. Ichigo snapped out of the momentary daze Mathis's attack had left him in and landed clumsily on the ground. He rolled to break the awkward drop, and then just as quickly leapt back up to re-engage Mathis, who had already entangled himself in a fight with Rukia.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo cried, sending a burst of blue-white reiatsu hurtling towards Mathis.

Mathis spun in the air, blocking Ichigo's attack with one hand and grabbing Rukia's sword with another. He flew backwards, unable to fully stop the force of the Getsuga, and heaved Rukia towards Ichigo.

Ichigo flash-stepped up and appeared behind Mathis, ready to cut him down while both of his arms were occupied. He swung hard and succeeded: Zangetsu cut into Mathis's back and drew blood.

The Getsuga Mathis was trying to hold back finally detonated, smothering the trio in a suffocating cloud of smoke. Ichigo felt a rush triumph wash over him.

His heart plummeted, however, when he heard Mathis's voice through the dark cloud. "Now I've got you right where I want you."

Mathis's bandaged right hand came flying through the smoke and struck Ichigo flat on the chest. The impact was painful, but the burst of kinetic energy that followed was even more painful, causing a pulse of agony to spread throughout his body yet again. He flew backward, unable to control his momentum. He ground to a halt on a building several yards away, and righted himself just in time to see Mathis holding Rukia by her neck with a single hand. Her Zanpakuto was lying on the pavement below, and she weakly clawed at the hand at her throat.

"Now, do we have a deal?" Mathis asked, irritably.

Ichigo clenched his teeth. He no longer had a choice; if he disagreed, Mathis could potentially hurt Rukia.

"Alright…I'll tell what you want to know," Ichigo said angrily. "Just let her go first."

With no apparent concern for Rukia, he simply dropped her from where she was and allowed her to hit the pavement by her Zanpakuto.

Ichigo sped forward to go to Rukia, but was stopped by Mathis, who instantly appeared in his path and raised his hand to Ichigo's forehead. He murmured, "Memory, recall."

Ichigo felt chunks of his life in Karakura town being relived in the connection between his mind and Mathis's hand. Mathis stuck to facts he seemed to deem appropriate, like the number of spiritually-aware people in the town, as well as empty areas and densely populated areas. He seemed to dwell on the memories of Hollows from all of Ichigo's encounters, including his own inner hollow, which had been relatively silent ever since he'd returned from Soul Society.

When Mathis was satisfied with the memories he'd extracted, he removed his hand from Ichigo's forehead and struck the top of his right shoulder with a hammer blow. Ichigo fell to the ground and cracked the pavement, the same way he had at the conclusion of his first fight with Mathis earlier that day.

He lay there, exhausted and unable to muster the will to fight. _Dammit…I should've gone Bankai…_he thought.

"I had not wanted to fight with you."

Ichigo opened his eyes and saw Mathis standing there next to him, hands in pockets.

"Not initially at any rate," he muttered. Ichigo saw his gaze flick over to Rukia's prone body. "_She_ was the problem." He began to walk away.

"Wait…" Ichigo rasped.

"She could've gotten your family hurt," Mathis said bluntly. "Keep that in mind."

"You're wrong. She was trying to protect them," Ichigo said angrily.

Mathis turned to look at Ichigo, and Ichigo saw a vicious, harsh glint in his eye. "By putting them at risk? I think not."

With a cold burst of static, Mathis vanished.

* * *

Ichigo crawled into his room, Rukia's limp body draped over his shoulder.

He set her on her back on the bed and locked his door.

She seemed to be hurt badly. He knelt beside his bed and brushed her hair out of her face. Her usually stern expression was marred by agony. Her breath came in slow, labored bursts. Ichigo felt a vengeful explosion of hate grip his heart, and knew his instincts cried for him to hurt Mathis as much as he possibly could for what he'd done to her.

He stood up abruptly and balled his hands into fists. He was angry at his own weakness. How complacent had he gotten since his return from Soul Society? After months upon months of nothing but killing regular Hollows, Ichigo had not trained himself at all. Even when Rukia returned to the real world, he did nothing.

He would've flown out the window at that moment had not Rukia's voice stopped him.

"Ichigo…watch out…" she murmured.

Ichigo's tense shoulders relaxed, and he let his fists unravel. Even though she was the one hurt and knocked out, she still looked out for him. The anger in Ichigo's chest subsided and was replaced by a deep affection.

Then, out of nowhere, Ichigo doubled over. His blind rage had momentarily numbed his own wounds, and now that it was gone, the pain came rushing back. His shoulder and stomach burned from Mathis's odd strikes. They were too strong to be normal punches, even if he was some sort of monster.

Ichigo distantly remembered Zangetsu oscillating when Mathis blocked it with one of his arms. _It has to be another trick. Electricity can't be his only power…_Ichigo thought.

With the last dregs of his strength, Ichigo pulled Rukia into his arms and placed her gingerly into the bed in his closet. This simple task of walking three paces with a lightweight girl in his arm was tiring, and Ichigo fell asleep the instant his face hit the pillow.

* * *

_He felt granules of dirt and asphalt pressing into his face._

_I'm on the floor._

_Where am I?_

_I don't know._

"_Run! Protect your mother!"_

_Wait. Mom's alive?_

_Ichigo opened his eyes and saw he was in an alleyway. Fire licked the brick walls on either side of him, and he could hear a man yelling in pain._

_Who is that…?_

_I don't know who it is._

_But I have to help him._

_I know it._

"_Ichigo!"_

_He's calling me._

_I _must_ go to him._

"Ichigo! Wake up, goddammit! Ichigo!"

Ichigo's eyes flashed open and he gasped. Sweat ran down his face, and he struggled to catch his breath, as if he'd just run a marathon.

Renji and Ishida stood at the door, while Rukia straddled his stomach. Judging by the position of her hands and the stinging sensation in his cheeks, she'd been trying to slap him awake.

Ichigo's curiosity ate away at his conscious mind. What had that dream been about?

* * *

"Again?" Renji asked incredulously. "And he beat you both?"

"Yeah. I got one hit in, but he completely ignored it," Ichigo said, tearing a piece of his bagel off with his teeth and chewing slowly.

Ichigo, Rukia, Renji and Ishida were in Ichigo's room, solemnly discussing the predicament they were faced with over breakfast. An odd combination.

Ishida adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Maybe, Kurosaki, you lost because you didn't even go Bankai."

"I didn't have time, you idiot," Ichigo snapped. "By the time he'd knocked me away, he was fighting with Rukia, and he would probably have seriously hurt her. I figured two on one would be good enough."

Renji let out an irritated noise and picked at his teeth. "Maybe we should all take him on. There's no way he can beat us all."

"No," Ichigo quicly said. "I don't think it's a good idea to pick a fight with him."

"Ichigo, just because you lost—."

"Not because I lost, Renji," Ichigo replied irritably. "Trust me, I'd love the opportunity to hurt him. It's just because I don't think he's trying to pursue us."

"Even so…" Rukia said slowly, "he didn't seem all too reluctant to fight you."

"Wouldn't you be willing to fight with someone after being blindsided?" Ichigo asked pointedly.

Rukia scowled at his reference to her sudden attack, which had started the battle. She crossed her arms and turned away with a huff.

"Either way, I think it'll be wise to request reinforcements from Soul Society," Ishida said coolly. "Just in case he does intend to attack us, we should be ready."

Renji got up off of Ichigo's bed, preparing to exit his gigai. "I'll head to Soul Society and request additional Shinigami to be sent here. For now, you'll have to wait with what you've got."

Ishida nodded. He got to his feet as well, just as Renji popped out of his gigai in Shinigami form and hurtled out the open window. "I'll rally Sado-kun and Inoue-san. We could probably use their help if the time comes."

Ichigo nodded in agreement and saw him out the door. When he closed it, he remembered what Mathis had said the night before.

"_What I'm here to do is for the greater good."_

"What do you think he meant by that?" Rukia asked when Ichigo told her what he and Mathis had been discussing before she'd intervened.

"I don't know." Ichigo scratched his head. "What I don't know is whether we should be helping him or trying to stop him. For all we know, his idea of the greater good might be like Hitler's idea of exterminating Jews like insects. He could be completely insane."

"We'll figure out what to do once we figure out his motives," Rukia said. "Did he say anything else?"

Ichigo paced back and forth, racking his brains for anything else that Mathis said that could be helpful.

He had been looking for something…for some_one_.

"_Do you know a humanoid demon called Pride?"_

"Pride," Ichigo said loudly, as the memory struck him like a physical blow to his gut. "He was looking for some humanoid demon-thing called Pride."

Rukia looked confused. "Pride? I've never heard of anyone with a name like that. Maybe it's a hollow?"

"Maybe," Ichigo said. "But we don't know enough to start making assumptions. We'll just be on our guard from now on. Just in case."

Rukia nodded in agreement and got up from his bed. Almost immediately, she stumbled and clutched at her side. Ichigo swooped in and braced her against his shoulder. "Are you ok?"

Rukia gritted her teeth in pain and nodded. She tried to pull free of Ichigo's grasp, but he held her tightly, knowing full-well that she was nowhere near ok. Last night's battle had obviously taken a heavy toll on her.

Ichigo helped her lie down on the bed, despite her protestations.

"You need to relax. You haven't recovered yet," Ichigo said. "Stay here for the day and rest up."  
Rukia glared at him. "You know I can't do that, Ichigo. What if he comes back looking for a fight?"

"I'll have Chad, Ishida and Inoue backing me up," Ichigo reassured her.

Rukia let out an irritated huff and speared him with an icy glare.

Ichigo snorted and turned to leave. Before he took three steps, he felt Rukia dig her fingers into his arm and pull him back.

"Rukia, what the f—."

"Be careful."

Ichigo looked at her, surprised at the sudden concern in her voice following her death-glare. But she had already thrown the covers over herself and rolled over so she was facing away from him.

He remained where he was for a few moments, and then abruptly turned and left. "Weirdo," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

"Renji. I brought your request for reinforcements to the Commander General. He has agreed to send a reconnaissance squad to Karakura Town—," Kuchiki Byakuya began.

Renji slammed his fist onto his Captain's desk. "Captain! I told you, we need at least two or three Lieutenants to deal with this situation! We might as well throw rocks at the bastard if we're just going to send in a scouting party!"

Byakuya surveyed Renji's angered expression and calmly replied, "I have no say in this. The Commander-General's orders are absolute."

"BUT CAPTAIN! HE DEFEATED ICHIGO!" Renji bellowed.

Byakuya sat there impassively, unmoved by Renji's anger.

"I care not if that _brat_ was defeated in combat. That is his fault, and his fault alone," Byakuya replied icily. "Soul Society is not going to sacrifice its resources to pay for his incompetence."

Renji opened and closed his mouth like a fish, unable to produce the words he so strongly desired to say.

"This discussion is over, Renji. The reconnaissance squad will meet you in front of our barracks in six hours. You are dismissed," Byakuya finished. He returned to his paperwork, and Renji knew that his Captain wouldn't listen to his arguments any further. He turned and stormed out of the office, fists clenched with rage. Why couldn't his Captain understand the nature of the threat?

"Ichigo…I'm sorry, but you'll have to hold out for a little longer on your own," he muttered under his breath.


	3. The Alamo

**(A/N) Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I know the first few chapters are little more than action, but the plot and background of the characters (as well as the IchiRuki I promised) will start to advance starting next chapter. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and as always feel free to drop a constructive comment if you'd like!**

**I also seem to have forgotten to include a disclaimer in my earlier chapters. I do not own any Bleach characters nor do I own any parts of the Bleach universe. The story plot does belong to me, as do the original characters. Credit goes to Tite Kubo for creating the Bleach universe. All future chapters will refer back to this chapter for the disclaimer.  
**

**Mood Music: Breathe - The Prodigy (Ichigo vs. All)**

**Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix) - The Prodigy (Ichigo and Mathis vs. All)  
**

Ichigo surveyed the town from the sky, looking for any stray Hollows that could have escaped his preliminary sweep. He yawned and tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. For several hours he had been on watch, since Rukia couldn't accompany him and he didn't know how to use her spirit phone. Thankfully, he'd only seen three minor hollows and it had only taken a few moments to eliminate them.

"Rukia, I have a newfound respect for you riding my shoulders with that damn phone of yours," Ichigo muttered under his breath.

A swishing noise reverberated through the air and Ishida's voice asked, "Keeping yourself busy, Kurosaki?"

Without turning to look, Ichigo responded, "You know it. Never a moment's rest, yeah?"

Ishida snorted. He pointed to various sections of the town. "Chad and Inoue are patrolling that part of town, and I'm covering that section. Just take care of these few blocks." He looked him in the eye for a moment and then turned away muttering, "and don't get too carried away."

"You're one to talk, after making all those hollows appear when we first met—," Ichigo dryly replied.

But another swishing noise told him that Ishida had already left.

"Arrogant ass," Ichigo grunted. He looked up to the sky for a moment and just drank in the pure blue plain and the fluffy white clouds.

Maybe Ishida was right. Now that he thought about it, his shoulders felt stiff from standing at attention for hours on end, and his inability to bend his knees without aches and pains were tell-tale signs that he was indeed stressing too much over protecting Karakura.

Ichigo paused to think as he sat on the roof of a building. What was he stressing about? Granted, the whole incident with Mathis the day before was grounds for stress, but Ichigo had dealt with defeats before, and he hadn't felt this tuckered out simply because he'd lost a fight.

What was it? Was it the strange dream he'd had last night? Ichigo tried to recall the dream, but was rewarded with fragments of unnecessary detail. Flames. A cry of anguish. Nothing else came to mind.

Ichigo's thoughts meandered for a few minutes and then came to an abrupt halt as they chanced upon Rukia. Was she okay? Ichigo furrowed his brow unconsciously and considered getting up and going to Urahara's shop to get some sort of medication.

After a few more minutes of brooding on what to do, he stopped himself. He was concerned about Rukia's well-being. No, not concerned. Something more. He was legitimately worried. Ichigo tried to fathom the nature of the emotion; he'd always been concerned for Rukia's health, but it had always been a tertiary point of attention. He had always pressed on to his main goal, and once he'd achieved that, then he would swoop down on Rukia and smother her in his anxiety.

But this was different. He felt as though Mathis had grabbed hisc heart and was squeezing it with all his might. Even though he was trying to focus on keeping the Hollows from doing any damage to the town and possibly engage Mathis in battle, Rukia's pained expression kept floating to the top of his mind and dizzyingly hovered there until Ichigo was snapped out of his trance by some physical motion.

_Like now,_ Ichigo mentally berated himself. He stood up quickly and continued to scan the few blocks Ishida had said were his to watch.

He was lucky to have gotten up then. A small, inhuman figure darted into an alleyway not too far from his current position. Ichigo flash-stepped forward to the alley entrance.

He turned and held Zangetsu at the ready, and was completely caught off guard by a blur of purple-black muscle and white bone that flew out and struck him in the shoulder. He whirled around, trying to catch his balance, when the thing struck him again, this time in the back. He hurtled away from the point of impact, and skidded to a halt in the air, panting in shock.

"Damn. This is gonna be a tough one," he whispered to himself. He rushed forward with Zangetsu in front of him. The Hollow obviously had not been expecting this, and let out an ear-splitting roar as Ichigo's Zanpakuto cut into its right arm. Ichigo frowned. _That's not a Hollow's roar…_

Then Ichigo noticed that the Hollow was not a Hollow at all, it was a…what was it? It's body rippled with dark purple muscles, and had white, bone-like shards of armor covering parts of its limbs and ribs. Its face had deep, pitch-black eye sockets with no visible eyeballs, giving it a skull-like visage. Two glowing orbs of green were hovering in the eye sockets, and Ichigo figured that those were its eyes. Its teeth were thin and filed to razor-sharp points, and there were so many of them that Ichigo shuddered at the thought of getting bitten by the damn thing.

He pulled back and swung again. The beast dodged to the right this time and then rushed forward, bone-gauntleted hand reaching to smash into Ichigo again. He ducked quickly, his martial arts reflexes moving his body before his mind could trip him up, and then he swung upwards. The thing couldn't dodge in time and roared in pain again as the tip of Zangetsu buried itself somewhere in its stomach. It was a shallow wound, however, and the beast kicked at Ichigo, who leapt up to evade the blow.

To Ichigo's surprise, a hail of white shards came flying up after him, and he had to flash-step again to the right to avoid the projectiles tearing through the air.

The monster had fired the sharp spines from grooves in its forearms, and it seemed to Ichigo that there was no end to them, as it swung flailed its arms twice more and another flurry of the shards rushed towards Ichigo. He pulled Zangetsu back over his head and let his reiatsu course into the blade.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" he yelled, swinging the sword down and releasing the built-up force in it in a crescent-shaped bolt of blue energy.

The beast fired several of the white bullet-like projectiles at the incoming mass of reiatsu, but to no avail. The bolt of energy crashed into it and left a gigantic gash in its torso, starting from its right shoulder to is left hip.

Its mouth opened and closed, as though it were a fish out of water gasping for oxygen. It fell to its knees, and then, after an agonizingly long moment of it struggling to get back to its feet, keeled over, dead, onto the pavement.

Ichigo watched the body to make sure it wasn't playing dead, and then released the breath he had been unconsciously holding. He gasped for breath, and felt the adrenaline rush through his spirit-body one last time.

What the hell was it? Ichigo never remembered any Hollow giving him as much trouble as this thing had, and no Hollow had been coordinated enough to keep up with Ichigo in close-quarters aside from Grand Fisher. He approached the body and nudged it with his foot. It didn't respond; it simply rolled a little bit from Ichigo's light kick. It didn't dissipate like a Hollow did, either.

Ichigo frowned and stood there, brooding again, and would have done so for several more minutes if not for a loud bellow from several blocks away. He whipped his head around toward the source of the sound and leapt into the air. In the distance he could see several of the same beasts leaping around a single point. Every once in a while, a burst of blue light would hit one of the monsters and vaporize it, but for every one that died, two more would take its place.

"Chad," Ichigo dazedly said. He recovered his composure and hurtled off towards the destruction, Zangetsu at the ready. He pulled Zangetsu off to the side and slashed at the nearest monster, which had not been paying any attention to Ichigo's approach. It roared in agony and fell to the pavement, mortally wounded by the deep gash Zangetsu had created in its lower back. Ichigo hacked and slashed at the beasts, which were now aware of his interference and were defending appropriately.

"Ichigo!" Chad's voice called. "What are these things?"

"Hell if I know, just keep killing them!" Ichigo yelled back.

"Kurosaki-kun, watch out!" Orihime's voice screamed at him.

Ichigo whirled around in time to see a pair of the beasts swooping down on him, arms outstretched. He tried to block with Zangetsu, but they had already struck him by the time he had Zangetsu halfway to its destination. He struck the side of building agonizingly hard, and left a large spiderweb of cracks and fissures in the brick wall of the building.

Ichigo coughed blood, and found himself despairing and confused again. No Hollow had made him bleed before, not since he'd fought Grand Fisher. Just what the hell were these things?

He shook the daze out of his head and ducked, barely dodging an armored foot that had been aimed for his face. He spun around in mid-air and hacked the limb off, and then slashed the monster in the face, shattering some of its teeth in the process.

Ichigo hurtled down back towards Chad and Orihime, who were hard-pressed in fending off the monsters. Chad kept pummeling them as they came close, and Orihime made sure none of them landed any hits on Chad's back. Ichigo took his place directly above them, staving off the creatures that tried to jump down on their unprotected heads.

A flurry of blue arrows speared two of the monsters, and Ichigo turned to see Ishida standing on a rooftop, his spirit bow in his hand. His left shoulder bled profusely, and Ichigo saw how strained his breathing was.

"Kurosaki! We have to get out of here!" he yelled while shooting off three more arrows. "Go Bankai and buy us some time!"

Ichigo grunted in response and leapt into the air. He swung his sword out in front of him and shouted, "BANKAI!"

A blast of blue light ripped through the air and vaporized several of the beasts. Ichigo swept the smoke aside with Tensa Zangetsu and sped forward to attack the remaining monsters.

"Go! I'll meet with you at Urahara's place!" Ichigo shouted. A pair of the purple-muscled beasts leapt up into the air, preparing for overhead strikes, while three more surrounded Ichigo and prepared to box him in.

"Too slow," Ichigo snarled, as he flash-stepped out of harm's way. He sped back to his original position, sword ready to hack through the monsters.

Two of them had recovered and attempted to counter-attack, but to no avail. Ichigo's speed was great enough to blow through their pitiful defense and allow him the opportunity to cut them all down.

Five bodies hit the floor simultaneously as Ichigo stepped up to the rooftops, wary of the dozen plus beasts circling him.

He continued to fight the beasts off, noting out of the corner of his eye that Ishida had collapsed a few rooftops away. Chad picked him up and followed Orihime down a flight of stairs on their roof, as Ishida could no longer transport them with his God Step.

Three of the monsters peeled off the main formation that was circling Ichigo, and he slashed at them with a quick Getsuga Tenshou. Two were cut down instantly, but the last survived and leapt towards the rooftop entrance. Several others noticed their companion breaking away from the circle and followed suit.

Ichigo tried to release a bolt of reiatsu at them as well, but four of the monsters moved to intercept it. They raised their arms and managed to hold it back momentarily. Ichigo rushed forward and attempted to cut them down while they were busy, but several more swooped in and blocked his attack.

Ichigo then realized that he was in a lot more trouble than he had originally thought. At least two-score of the beasts were waiting to attack him, and a dozen of them had purple, leathery wings, which meant even with his superior speed, Ichigo wouldn't be able to get very far before they found him again. And that was assuming they decided to chase him and not Chad, Inoue, and the unconscious Ishida. The four that had followed them pummeled the fire door Chad had jammed shut and smashed through in a matter of seconds.

"Chad! Inoue! Look out!" Ichigo yelled desperately.

"Could you _possibly _be any more incompetent?" a cold voice asked.

Ichigo's blood froze, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow as the familiar yet unfamiliar heavy energy smashed down on his shoulders for the third time in less than 48 hours. The monsters seemed to notice it as well and turned to face the source.

"Corruption, discharge."

Three bolts of black lightning coursed through the air and burned through three of the monsters. Ichigo turned and saw Mathis standing on a rooftop, irritation still plain on his face. The monsters paid no heed to Ichigo and all swarmed towards Mathis, who pulled his other hand out of his pocket and crouched low to the ground. When it seemed as though the creatures were close to dogpiling him, he blasted through them at an impossible speed, skidding to a halt on a rooftop several blocks away. He nonchalantly spat over the edge of the rooftops, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

His single attack, which had taken less than a second, had incapacitated half of the unknown beasts, and he had been unarmed. Ichigo gulped. How had he even survived against someone like that?

"Hey, you. Spirit," Mathis called. Ichigo instantly took up a defensive position, much to Mathis's amusement.

"Either help me deal with the demons, or stay the hell out of my way," he said coolly. He murmured under his breath, and raised his hand to his face, palm facing down. A bar of black flashed into existence, and Ichigo heard the electrical buzzing of Needle Sharp once more. He scowled. "_You _stay the hell out of my way. I don't need your help," he retorted, dashing forward to engage with the monsters.

Mathis snorted and leapt up above the mass of demons while Ichigo began to hack away at them.

"Needle Sharp, Seek…" Mathis growled, jabbing forward with the tapered black bar. It disconnected from Mathis's middle finger and jetted downward. It drilled through two of the demons, instantly killing them, before lodging itself in a third demon's chest. It roared in agony and clawed at itself, trying to remove the crackling bar of energy.

"…and Destroy," Mathis finished, forcefully clamping his opened right hand into a fist.

The bar detonated, and a pulse of electricity exploded outward from the bar. All the demons had foolishly gathered in one place, trying to get at Ichigo, and as a result, they were all caught in the blast. The electrical explosion killed several of them and incapacitated the rest. Ichigo, however, felt no more than a slight buzz as the wall of electricity fizzled past him. The wave soon dissipated, and Mathis landed heavily on a nearby building. He and Ichigo locked eyes, Ichigo's strong, light-brown eyes met Mathis's cold, steel-blue eye.

Mathis turned away first. He crouched slightly, as if preparing to jump, but Ichigo flash-stepped in front of him and said quickly, "Wait."

Mathis remained poised to leap, but did nothing. "What do you want?"

"I want to know what those things were," Ichigo said flatly. "I want to know how they're so strong, and I want to know the easiest way for me to kill them if they return."

Mathis opened his mouth to reply, but Ichigo cut him off, and continued through gritted teeth.

"I also want to know why you're here." Ichigo's grip on Zangetsu tightened. "And why you seem so damn eager to hurt us when you don't even know us."

"I'm not," Mathis said simply. "Don't you remember what I said the first time I fought you? I have a policy on how to deal with unfamiliar spirits. And the second time I hadn't even intended to fight, but your fool of a friend tried to ambush me, and failed miserably. Maybe _I_ should be the one asking why _you_ are so willing to attack me, when you don't even understand my goals."

Ichigo's anger did not dissipate. "You never explained them."

"Your friend never gave me a chance to."

The two of them stood there, glaring at each other, when a loud _BOOM_ rocked the earth.

"It looks like I'm too late," Mathis spat. He shot a look at Ichigo that could've melted through steel.

"What?" Ichigo asked, slightly worried.

"More have come. If you hadn't distracted me I could've sealed off the hole they were emerging from. Now the hole has widened, and it seems that they are converging," Mathis narrowed his eye slightly as he spoke, "on your house."

Without further ado, both of them tore through the air towards Ichigo's house. Sure enough Ichigo saw them crawling all over the place, slowly drawing closer to the house.

"Why the hell would they come up here?" Ichigo asked angrily.

"They can sense the presence of other spirits, especially those who are able to use their spiritual energy," Mathis said, flicking his wrist and materializing Needle Sharp again.

_Reiatsu. They can sense reiatsu,_ Ichigo thought to himself. A jolt of realization hit Ichigo.

_Rukia._

Ichigo swore and released a burst of reiatsu without thinking. The slightly weaker Getsuga crashed into two of the demons and killed them. The rest of them turned to look at their assailant, and rushed forward to meet Ichigo's charge. He braced for the impact with his sword, but never felt it; Mathis had speared the three that had been closest with his long-range projectile attack. The detonation buffeted the rest of the charging beasts, knocking them back or at least stalling their advance.

Ichigo fought like an animal. He cut down a dozen of them without breaking a sweat, constantly trying to get closer to the house.

_Rukia._

A hole in the demonic formation finally opened, and he rocketed into his room through the open window. Rukia was there, up and panting, hand outstretched. The smoke from her hand told him that she had used kido to defend herself.

"Ichigo! What are these things?" Rukia gasped, trying to catch her breath. "And…you're hurt!" she cried, catching sight of the blood leaking from the corner of Ichigo's mouth.

"I'll be fine. Just stay here and stay safe," Ichigo growled, coughing a little.

"If you have time to stand around and chat, why don't you help me with the demons, spirit?" Mathis called angrily through the window. Rukia visibly stiffened at the sound of his voice. "Is that…?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said reassuringly. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "He's on our side for now, so just stay here. I won't let them get through."

Rukia opened her mouth to protest, but Ichigo had already darted back out the window and engaged with the closest cluster of demons. She could see Ichigo hacking the monsters to pieces with his Zanpakuto while Mathis toiled like a surgeon with Needle Sharp, drilling holes into the skulls of the demons that rushed to attack him.

Rukia positioned herself next to the window, her arm outstretched. She wouldn't just sit there like a damsel in distress. She murmured to herself as reiatsu built up within her. She'd mastered the ability to use kido in her gigai without much impediment, and she planned on putting her newfound skill to good use.

She cried out the last of the mantra, aimed at the closest demon, and let the reiatsu orb that had built up in her hand jet toward its target. A red explosion and an unworldly scream told her that her attack had connected.

The battle continued on for several minutes, with Ichigo and Mathis tearing the beasts apart at close range, and Rukia sniping individual demons.

Soon enough, the fray died down, and the last demon fell to the ground, slapping wetly against the corpses of dozens upon dozens of the monsters that carpeted the pavement. Ichigo panted heavily and looked around himself, checking to see if there were any more of the monsters. When he saw there were none, he straightened and let out a big sigh, composing himself.

He turned and saw Mathis stride to the roof of his house. His lips were moving, but Ichigo couldn't make out his words as he was too far away.

Suddenly a large, invisible orb blurred the air above the house, and Mathis made a quick swiping movement with his right arm. The disturbance fluctuated and then abruptly disappeared. Mathis stood there for a few moments, and then Ichigo saw him nod his head curtly.

He turned towards Ichigo and blurred towards his side, surveying the rest of the town as he spoke. "I never did catch your name, spirit."

Ichigo replied dryly, "You never did give me a chance to introduce myself."

"Touché," Mathis conceded. "Now or never, spirit. What is your name?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo said.

Mathis made a small sound of what Ichigo interpreted as approval. "A good name."

"I get that a lot."

Mathis turned to face Ichigo. "Do not misunderstand our familiarity, Kurosaki Ichigo. We were allies in the heat of the moment. That said, I know now that you are in no way affiliated with my enemy."

Ichigo listened quietly, somehow understanding that Mathis was no longer threatening him.

"You fight weak creatures I have never seen before called Hollows. You and your friends wear similar uniforms that I have never encountered before, and from your memories I have gleaned that you are not alone. Obviously you are part of a larger whole with a unified purpose, and I will, for now, understand that this whole is not my enemy, and that its purpose aims to help mankind. At the same time, you seem troubled by my powers, my enemies, and even me in general. I don't mean to brag, but if you were a part of my enemy, you would know who I was, and the very nature of my being."

Mathis narrowed his eye and continued, his voice low and foreboding. "These monsters were simply Minors. They are demonic footsoldiers from the bowels of Hell itself. While they all look the same and have the same strength, same intelligence, and same abilities, they are not stupid. They coordinate attacks, organize counter-attacks, and plan their moves carefully."

Ichigo remembered when he had blindly followed the first Minor and how it had ambushed him. He nodded.

"Do not think for a moment that they have forgotten you. I can no longer move away from this place, because they have set their sights on you and your allies. And they are the lowest ranked soldiers in the demonic army."

He turned away and stared long and hard at Rukia, who winced slightly under his intense gaze. "You will need all the help you can, Kurosaki," he muttered. "Request reinforcements from whatever organization you and that girl are a part of."

"We already have," Ichigo replied. "Another one of our allies—."

"Good. Then I don't need to hear anything more," Mathis cut him off. He hunched over and crouched through the window of Ichigo's bedroom and faced Rukia. Ichigo's instincts took over and he rushed through the window next to Mathis, grip tightening on his Zanpakuto. "What're you doing?" he asked cautiously.

Mathis looked at him and snorted. "I'm going to try to undo some of the damage I did. You don't need to be so suspicious of me anymore. We're not enemies."

With that, Mathis pulled out his right hand and pressed it against Rukia's chest, ignoring her protestations. He growled, "Stay still, or this'll hurt."

She reluctantly complied, trying to keep herself from flinching. Ichigo's grip did not loosen, still suspicious of Mathis's motives.

"Static, Interference," he murmured. Ichigo heard a low thrum, followed by a pained groan from Rukia, who gripped the sheets tightly in her fists.

Mathis closed his eye and pressed his bandaged hand harder against Rukia's sternum, and she let out a yelp of pain as the vibrations in Mathis's hand dug deeper into her chest cavity.

"Interference, Destroy."

The moment Ichigo heard the word _destroy_, he felt apprehension grip his heart, and he moved to grab Mathis's arm. But by then, Mathis had pulled away, and Rukia let out a sigh of content. She opened her eyes, and Ichigo saw that she seemed more energetic.

"How did you—?" Rukia started.

"Don't worry about it," Mathis replied flatly. He turned on his heel, and leaned forward again, pockets still in hands.

With a burst of icy static, Mathis vanished, and a blast of wind rolled over Rukia and Ichigo.

The two of them shared looks, and awkwardly smiled. Mathis had been so direct and concise that it almost seemed as if he disliked conversing with people in general.

Ichigo sighed and placed a hand gingerly on Rukia's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Rukia looked up at him and smiled. "A lot better now. Well enough to follow you wherever you go now," she added mischievously.

Ichigo scowled. "What if you get hurt again?"

"Well I can't exactly expect life to pad its corners just for me, can I?" she replied, the familiar resolve recognizable in her voice. Ichigo grinned.

"Can't argue with that," he conceded with a nod of his head. He turned towards the window again and leapt out, Rukia in hot pursuit in Shinigami form.

"Ishida was badly injured last time I saw him," Ichigo said, concern creeping into his voice. "Can you feel where his spiritual pressure is?"

Rukia closed her eyes and continued to jump after Ichigo across the rooftops, and then abruptly stopped. She opened her eyes and jerked her head over towards another side of the town. "Urahara's shop," she said curtly.

Wordlessly, they both sped off to the old man's shop, silently praying for the best.

* * *

"Ishida will be fine," Urahara said, slowly fanning himself. "Orihime-san was kind enough to heal most of his wounds, but there is some form of poison in there that is hindering his natural healing processes. There isn't enough of the poison to pose a serious problem; he just needs to rest for a few days and he will be in tip-top shape in no time."

Rukia and Ichigo simultaneously let out sighs of relief. "That's great news," Rukia said.

"I have sent Sado and Orihime back to their residences for now," Urahara continued, "because the reinforcements from Soul Society have arrived."

Rukia perked up at the news. "Already? But how? I haven't felt any spiritual presences entering or moving around in Karakura Town!"

Urahara smiled. "I have issued each of them with a special reiatsu-cloaking device. It seems as though those demons are attracted to reiatsu. I thought it would be prudent for our side to have the upper hand."

"They are much stronger than you give them credit for, Urahara-san," Ichigo said. "How many—?"

"Twenty-five, not including Abarai-kun," Urahara said.

Rukia gaped, but Ichigo was not the least assured by the number. "Are they seated Shinigami?"

Urahara shook his head. "Apparently the Commander-General is reluctant to send too much of Soul Society's resources into a single area, and has deemed your presence in Karakura to be a great enough defense against this new threat."

"Bullshit," Ichigo growled. "What would have happened if Mathis was our enemy?"

Urahara's gaze fell solidly on Ichigo. "So you made contact yet again?"

Ichigo explained the whole story of what had happened earlier. He explained how he had been on guard for Hollows when he'd first seen the Minors enter the town. He blew past the battle and Mathis's intervention, and how they had manifested close to his house to attack Rukia. He recalled how Mathis had specifically said that he no longer deemed Ichigo and his allies as potential enemies, but how he had also gone out of his way to state that they were not allies either.

Urahara listened quietly, and once Ichigo finished, asked, "Is that all?" He almost sounded enthusiastic.

Ichigo was taken aback by Urahara's seemingly inappropriate reaction to the dire situation. "Yes…Why?"

Urahara replied, "Then you and your friends can take a break."

"What makes you say that?" Rukia asked angrily. Ichigo surmised that she was irritated because she had not gotten a chance to fight them first-hand.

"Think about it. Twenty-five shinigami excluding a Lieutenant-level shinigami are on patrol in this town, which is many times more than any full strike team the Commander-General would normally allow in any area. On top of that, you have a very powerful fighter on your side that is accustomed to the new threat and is able to easily handle them. I would say for now, the situation is fully under control," Urahara said smugly, resuming fanning himself.

"Then…what do we do?" Ichigo asked confusedly.

"Enjoy yourselves a little!" Urahara said happily. "Kurosaki-san, you lead a double life to begin with, and now that you have the opportunity to embrace your other half more, why don't you have a little fun? It would be a great way for you to relieve some of your stress. You too, Kuchiki-san."

Ichigo quickly replied, "But how do you expect us to just relax while we know those things are running around in Karakura?"

Urahara pointed his fan at the general outside world. "Do not underestimate your new ally and the Gotei 13, Kurosaki-san. They will be able to handle themselves for the moment."

Rukia and Ichigo shared a quick look of hesitation when Tessai snuck up behind them.

"The Manager has spoken," he grunted as he hoisted the two of them up by their collars. "Now go be happy together!" With that exclamation he spun out of the shop and hurled them in the general direction of Ichigo's house.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ichigo screamed as he vanished in the distance.


	4. Out of the Frying Pan

**A/N:**

**For those of you who have been following this story, I'm sorry it's been a while since my last update. Finals are a pain in the ass, and studying for them is probably the worst thing about college. But now that it's over and I'm on my winter break, I've had time to try to catch up a bit. You'll see the first major romantic hints in this chapter, as well as a little plot development. As always, constructive criticism and general reactions/suggestions are always welcomed.**

**Mood Music:**

**Get Up – Ciara Feat. Chamillionaire (Inside the Club)**

**Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan**

"I swear, that teacher can't shut the hell up when it comes to his cats," Ichigo said, slipping his shoes on. "In fact, he reminds me of you when you see a bunny or anything vaguely related to that stupid Chappy thing from—OW!"

Rukia slapped him over the head with her left shoe and huffed. "Chappy is not stupid! You just can't appreciate the charm of a cute bunny!"

Ichigo rubbed his head and glared at her. "Whatever you say, stupid."

"What was that?"

The two of them left, their argument not losing any steam. Their bickering caught the attention of Keigo and Chizuru, who were handing out flyers. Keigo flew towards Ichigo, losing several of the flyers in the process.

"Hey, hey, Ichigo! Kuchiki-san! Want to help us promote this club that just opened up?" Keigo asked excitedly.

"No," Ichigo said immediately, not stopping at all. But Rukia seemed interested, and quickly grabbed the back of Ichigo's collar and yanked him back.

"What kind of club is it?" Rukia asked curiously. "Is it academics-related?"

Keigo looked at her oddly, and Ichigo realized a little too late, _Shit, she doesn't know what a club is._

"It's a regular…er…club, Kuchiki-san," Keigo said, a little confused. Ichigo whispered into her ear, "It's a place where people go to party and dance."

Rukia formed a slight 'o' with her mouth in realization, and quickly recovered, "I'm sorry Asano-san, I misunderstood you! I would love to check this place out," she said, voice rising several decibels. Ichigo rolled his eyes. Typical.

Keigo, on the other hand, fell for her fake enthusiasm and melted. "I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san~! I should have made myself more clear, my bad!" He pressed two flyers into her arms and ran off in search of other possible promoters.

Ichigo dragged Rukia along as she began to read the flyer. "C'mon, it's probably not even worth it. I never understood why people enjoyed dancing so much to begin with—."

"We get paid seventy-five dollars apiece if we go!" Rukia said in shock.

Ichigo abruptly stopped in his tracks and gaped at Rukia. "Give me that," he said, snatching the flyers out of her hands. Indeed, there was a bolded statement at the bottom of the flyer: **Promoters will be paid seventy-five dollars each for attending on opening day, and will be given free drinks. Simply present the pamphlet or flyer you were given!**

"Is the manager of this club out of his mind?" Ichigo asked in awe. "He must be some rich-ass snob."

Ichigo made to crumple up the flyer, but Rukia snatched it back out of Ichigo's hands and held it to her chest.

"Ichigo, I want to see what this 'club' is! It sounds very interesting!" Rukia said, gracing him with her determined glare. Ichigo wasn't convinced. "You wouldn't like it."

"How would you know?" Rukia asked. "Have you ever been there?"

Ichigo struggled to find an answer, but lamely came up with, "I just know."

Rukia seemed to make her decision right then and there. "You're coming with me. Urahara was right; you need to enjoy your human life a little more! It's your responsibility as a Substitute Shinigami to relax a little too," she huffed. She began to drag him away, against his will.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Ichigo said irritably, struggling to break free.

"We're going shopping for clothes, obviously."

"Rukia, I really—."

* * *

"—don't want to go," Ichigo grumbled.

Rukia had dragged him to the closest department store and was currently looking through every article of clothing in the store, it seemed. She had started from one corner and had gone through each row and column of clothes racks for the past hour. It seemed she was more interested in human clothes than Ichigo had expected. A detail he would never forget.

"Calm down, Ichigo," Rukia said, flicking through a rack of tank-tops. "You've been saying that for the past twenty minutes."

"Actually I've been saying it for the hour we've been here and all throughout the fifteen minutes it took to get here," Ichigo replied irritably.

Rukia looked at Ichigo quizzically. "Has it really been that long?" she asked.

Ichigo nodded slowly, hoping for the impossible.

Sure enough, Rukia turned right back to the clothes and brushed him off. "We have plenty of time."

Ichigo rolled his eyes with a sigh. He turned to the men's section and began searching for something presentable for himself. He didn't want to go, sure, but it didn't seem like he had much of a say.

He eventually chose for himself a black dress-shirt with a white v-neck underneath, and a pair of dark blue jeans to go with his top. A silver wallet chain, more for design than for function, hung out of his left pocket. A pair of white sneakers completed his outfit, and despite Ichigo not wanting to go to this party, he liked what he'd picked out for himself. He would never admit it to anyone, but he found this shopping adventure slightly more enjoyable than he'd expected.

He left the fitting room, still in his chosen outfit, to find Rukia, but she was nowhere to be found. He frowned and ventured over to the women's fitting room.

"Rukia?" he called. An employee pointedly glared at him and then at the 'Women's Fitting Rooms' sign, and he sheepishly waited out by the entrance.

A few minutes later, Ichigo heard her call him. "Ichigo? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, why?" he asked.

As soon as she walked into his field of view, his heart _stopped_. She was wearing a tight minidress, with one hem being longer than the other. Somehow the material sparkled, and Ichigo noticed a barely visible violet patter emblazoned on the longer hem, and immediately thought of Rukia's eyes, which were the same color.

She seemed slightly uncomfortable in the tight attire, as it showed off more of the curves of her body than she was accustomed to, and she kept trying to pull the shorter hem of the dress further down her left leg, to no avail.

"I kind of like this dress, but it seems a little too…provocative, even for you humans," she started, looking up at Ichigo to ask his approval. She then noticed what he was wearing.

"Wow. You—."

"—look really nice," they both said, simultaneously.

Both of them blushed furiously at each other's statement and mumbled their gratitude.

Ichigo said softly, "It looks great Rukia, and to be honest…what you're wearing is pretty tame for human standards."

Rukia looked surprised. "This dress? Wow…I never expected _this_ to be tame clothing. If Byakuya nii-sama ever saw me in this…" she shuddered at the thought.

He smirked at her and looked her straight in the eye. "But you said _you_ liked it," he said teasingly.

Rukia let out a small noise of irritation and turned her nose up at Ichigo.

"Alright, let's get out of here now," Ichigo said, moving back to the fitting room to put his own clothes back on.

"You mean you'll buy it for me?" Rukia asked delightedly.

Ichigo swore under his breath. He'd forgotten for the hundredth time that Rukia was not a part of his world, and that she _had no money whatsoever._

"Fine, FINE, let's just get the hell out of here," he huffed.

Rukia obnoxiously sauntered off into the woman's fitting room to change, and Ichigo made a mental note to get her back for this at some point in time.

* * *

_Five Hours Later_

"I still don't understand why I agreed to this," Ichigo grumbled, pulling at his collar a little.

Rukia shot him a look that said 'stop complaining or I'll slap you across the face."

The two of them had taken a cab into the big city, Tokyo. According to the flier Keigo had given Rukia, the club would open in the next few minutes, at 9 pm. All the promoters were milling around outside the club entrance, which was fairly large. Ichigo had gawked at the sheer size; his suspicions had been right about the club owner being wealthy. Perhaps the English name of the club was not a Japanese ploy to gain more recognition as a more exotic club, but was actually created by a foreigner. Despite his former protestations, Ichigo was slightly interested.

Rukia was swaying back and forth a little bit to the beat of the music that was pumping in the club. Ichigo watched her and smiled out of amusement. She acted just like a teenager, despite her actual age. If it weren't for her Shinigami origins, she could've been a very nice catch.

Ichigo was taken aback at this thought. He mentally berated himself. He was obviously being a typical male, especially since she was wearing a relatively provocative outfit and looked absolutely wonderful in it. Ichigo never got over how all Shinigami could blend into the population of the real world so easily.

Suddenly a loud cheer erupted from the crowd, and the large mass of promoters began to mill in towards the now-open doors. Rukia was caught in the mob and was almost swept away, but managed to catch Ichigo's hand in time.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried in surprise. She pulled herself towards him and stumbled into him. He snorted and brushed them both off.

"You're so small that this crowd can carry you away like a wave, huh?" he said, grinning smugly.

She shot him an irritated glance and yanked her hand from him. "I tripped and slipped, that's all," she said heatedly. "Let's go inside."

The two of them strode in through the open double doors and were immediately struck by a wall of sound. The music was infinitely louder than either of them had expected, and the subwoofer must've been the size of the building itself, as Ichigo felt his heart thrum with the beat of the music. Even the air seemed to pulsate with the booming bass hits.

Rukia looked around with great interest, trying to take in everything at once. She looked like a girl experiencing her first Christmas. The flashing lights, the dance floor and the myriad of clubbers who were already getting their groove on, and the dark and moody lighting were all new to her, and she found it enjoyable.

"Ichigo! Rukia~!" someone called.

Ichigo turned and saw Tatsuki and a bunch of her friends walk over to him. "So you guys ended up coming after all! Keigo's gonna have a fiesta if he found out he managed to get _him_ here," she laughed, nodding towards Ichigo, who scowled in response.

"I'm just here for the money," he quipped.

"Sure you are," Tatsuki said, slugging him in the shoulder playfully. "Why don't you enjoy yourself a bit?"

Ichigo's mouth twitched. _Why is _everybody _saying the exact same thing to me?_

"Come on, Kuchiki-san!" Orihime said, taking Rukia by the hand and pulling her to the throng of dancing people on the floor.

Tatsuki grinned at Ichigo and nodded her head in the direction of the dancing crowd. "Why don't you get in there too?" she asked.

"Dancing's not my thing," Ichigo said. The tone of his voice must have said otherwise, though, as Tatsuki's began to leer at him. She took him by the hand and nearly hurled him into the pulsating mob.

"Tap into your inner dancer, Ichigo!" she called to him before going off with her friends to another part of the dance floor.

Before Ichigo could wrestle his way out, the dancing crowd seemed to envelope him, and their energy seemed contagious. When Ichigo stopped struggling, he noticed that there were several couples in the crowd, and that most of them were pressed close against one another, girl in front and guy in back. Each couple moved with the beat of the music like they were a single being and not two separate people. Their dancing was provocative, and radiated a strong sense of desire and…love? Ichigo could almost feel it, the same way he could feel reiatsu from spiritual entities.

He suddenly felt out of place. He was alone here, with no one he knew around to at least help him break out of the crowd. Where had Rukia gone?

As if called forward by Ichigo's thought of her, Rukia pushed through a tight knot of people and fell straight into Ichigo.

"I'm sorry!" she said hurriedly, before noticing it was just the substitute Shinigami. "Oh, Ichigo!"

"Hi, Rukia…" Ichigo said uncertainly. He sincerely hoped that she wouldn't ask him to dance, though it seemed unlikely, as she was too busy trying to experience the entire club all at once.

"Ichigo, this place is amazing!" she gushed, trying to gesture to the entirety of the club without hitting anyone of the dancers surrounding them. "Why haven't you taken me to places like this before?" she asked accusingly.

"Well it wasn't my kind of thing," Ichigo protested irritably.

"Wasn't?" Rukia asked teasingly.

Ichigo scowled a little bit and said just loud enough for Rukia to hear, "Ok…maybe it's a little more enjoyable than I'd initially thought."

She smirked at him and drew close to him. Too close.

"Rukia—," Ichigo started, unable to back away due to the throng of people caging him in. The music chose that moment to fade out and into a new song.

"Would you like to dance?" she asked softly, still grinning. She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

Time seemed to drag, and Ichigo could imagine the entire club moving in slow motion, the provocative swaying of all the dancers moving in synchronized unison to the now-pulsing beat. He was sucked into the pools of violet that were Rukia's eyes, and he gaped as if he were a fish out of water.

Ichigo was shocked. This was a part of Rukia he had never seen before and had never expected to see out of her, of all people. He couldn't figure out how to answer, and would have nodded numbly had not Rukia lightly pushed him away with a hand.

"It'll be a million years before you ever get to dance with me," Rukia laughed, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Ichigo said nothing, and simply watched Rukia dart out of the crowd to the bar, where Orihime and Sado were.

He hadn't even considered saying 'no' outright. And he had almost said 'yes'. His throat felt slightly dry, so he decided he needed something to drink.

He headed to the back, where the bathrooms were, and searched for a water fountain or some other place where he could get cold water to drink. He didn't nearly trust the bartenders enough to not mix something into his drink.

He found an empty lounge and saw that there was a small refrigerator in the corner. Upon opening it, he found a single unopened water bottle. He took it and slowly sank into one of the plush couches. He took a long draught and began to think.

This was not an environment that he was used to. The air was charged with hormones, and there was no tension at all. Ichigo had become used to dealing with high-stress situations, before and after he'd acquired his Shinigami powers. But now? He could easily pass for a regular teenager taking part in typical teenage pastimes. Half because he couldn't do anything else at the moment and half because his desire for a normal life called for it.

Could he deal with such a normal life? He'd always wanted the chance to be a normal teenager, but now that he was experiencing facets of the life he'd wanted, he decided that perhaps he did not despise being abnormal after all.

He rose slowly, just in time to see a tall youth crash through the door, a wave of sound accompanying his body into the room. As the door closed, the lounge became quieter again, and Ichigo stood stock-still, momentarily unable to process what had just happened.

The boy shook his head slightly and rose to his feet. Ichigo saw a flush in his face and knew immediately that he was drunk.

"HE TOOK HER!" he suddenly roared, much to Ichigo's shock.

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, calm down, buddy!" Ichigo yelled back as the guy tried to envelope him in his arms.

"She's gone…where'd he take her?" the boy groaned.

Ichigo's protective instincts kicked in. "Who? Who took her?"

"Kenta…you son of a bitch…I'm supposed to be her boyfriend…" the boy slurred. He swayed a little and almost toppled forward, and would have hit the floor face-first had not Ichigo caught him and laid him on the sofa.

"Who is that?" Ichigo asked. "Hey, stay with me! When did he take her?"

"A few days…ago…zzzzz…" the drunken teen slipped off into a slumber, and Ichigo found that no matter what he did, he could not wake him.

Ichigo sighed. At least it was not a date-rape scenario the kid was dealing with. But what exactly was going on? And even though it seemed heartless, Ichigo found that he did not really care. This was the drunken boy's problem to handle, not his. He pulled the youth to the closest couch and laid him down on his side. He found a spare bucket from the closet in the bathroom and placed it close to the drunken boy's head, in case he found it necessary to hurl. He plopped himself down on the couch next to him and waited.

The night dragged on.

And on…

And on.

Ichigo periodically checked his watch, but he found that no matter how strongly he willed time to move faster, the hands of his wristwatch mocked him by inching around at an agonizingly slow pace. After what seemed like days of waiting, Ichigo felt himself doze…and finally, after battling with the drowsiness that had suddenly befallen him, he surrendered to the warmth of the couch and the embrace of his subconscious.

_He saw an unconscious girl with strawberry-blonde hair being held upright by a tall, well-built male with short, shaggy hair on her right and a girl with black spiky hair about the height of the blonde on her left._

_He wondered why the two youths at either side of the orange-haired-girl looked so frantic._

_And why the strawberry-blonde girl was unconscious._

_Why are they all bleeding?_

_A raven-haired girl with a frustrated and panicked expression stood in front of them, badly injured._

_Beside her the body of a male with a slight build lay in a puddle of blood._

_His broken glasses lay a few inches from his prone body._

_She was fighting with someone._

_No, with some_thing_._

_Blue flames raged in front of the expressionless girl._

_Something was there, in the midst of the blaze._

_A giant black scorpion._

_But it looked strange._

_Its pincers were strange._

_Its body was strange._

_Its stinger was strange._

_Nothing about it seemed right._

_He had no time to observe further, because the scorpion attacked with a ferocious roar._

_It sounded almost…human._

_It rushed forward impossibly fast..._

"_He doesn't understand the concept of mercy."_

_Who?_

"_Don't get in his way. He'll swat you aside without a second thought."_

_What's he after?_

"_If you see him, run. If he sees you…pray."_

Ichigo woke with a start, a cold sweat on his brow and a chill in his hands and feet. The boy was gone from the couch, as was the bucket. The music still pulsed through the thin walls, and a quick time-check told Ichigo that he'd been out for a half-hour.

"Awake yet?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Ichigo turned to the source of the voice. Sitting on the couch to his right was a laid back teen wearing a navy-blue dress-shirt with vertical white lines and a pair of dark blue jeans. His sneakers were pure-white, with gold accents in English, which Ichigo couldn't read fluently just yet. A gold chain hung from his neck and from it dangled a small pendant, a complex geometric sculpture that twisted and turned and played tricks on the eye. His face was twisted into an amused smile, and his green eyes looked bright and calm, with a slight mischievous twinkle in them. His dark hair was short and messy, completing his laid-back composure perfectly.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Ichigo asked carefully.

The boy laughed. "Relax, buddy! You need to lighten up a bit."

He nonchalantly held out his hand. "I'm Kale. Nice to meet you, Ichigo."

Ichigo took the hand firmly, like his father had taught him. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Ich—," he stopped himself mid-introduction.

"How did you know my name?" Ichigo asked suspiciously.

Kale shrugged. "We might share an acquaintance or two. Who knows?"

Ichigo got up abruptly and asked again. "How do you know my name?"

In the relative silence of the lounge, his question seemed to echo loudly.

"You're just as anxious as he said you'd be," Kale sighed.

Ichigo knew then who he was talking about.

"You…You know him?" Ichigo said slowly, slightly surprised at the fact that Mathis was on familiar terms with another person.

Kale stood up and stretched. "That's right. I know Mathis." Kale paused and then added, "You don't have to look so shocked."

"I never thought someone else would know him well enough to be on speaking terms with him," Ichigo admitted. "He didn't strike me as a very social person."

Kale chuckled. "Yeah, he has that impression on most people. But he does speak with many individuals, just not for extended periods of time. On top of that, he only talks to people to get information. He doesn't partake in casual or personal conversations."

Ichigo remembered how Mathis had cut him off when he had tried to elaborate about Renji going to Soul Society to request reinforcements.

He also remembered a moment of interaction between Mathis and himself that contradicted Kale's words.

"_I had not wanted to fight with you. Not initially at any rate. _She_ was the problem." _

"_Wait…"_

"_She could've gotten your family hurt. Keep that in mind."_

"_You're wrong. She was trying to protect them."_

"_By putting them at risk? I think not."_

"Hey. You still with me?"

Ichigo snapped out of his reverie and nodded. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry, it happens to me all the time," Kale said casually, walking to one of the 'Employees Only' doors and opening it with a light push. He motioned for Ichigo to follow him in.

"Wait, isn't that a restricted—."

"It won't be a problem."

Ichigo walked through the doorway and into the plain, empty hallway as Kale closed the door behind them. The walls were a dark walnut paneling, and the floor was carpeted with an ornate rug. The pounding music from the dance floor was still audible at this point, thought the walls seemed to absorb and muffle most of the sound.

The long hallway ended with a large, heavy-set steel door. It seemed to sharply contrast with the formal décor of the hallway, and it didn't help that there was a large skull slashed into the metal door.

Ichigo's uncertainty must have shown on his face, because Kale reassured him, "One of our older members decided to carve that into the door just in case someone who wasn't part of our organization tried to come in. He also installed—."

Before Kale finished, two of the walnut slats behind the two of them slipped into the wall silently, and from the open vertical slits several thick metal bars emerged and slammed into each other, walling Ichigo and Kale into the hallway.

"Password?" A robotic voice hissed. Ichigo recognized the slight crackling in the voice as a vocal masking device, as Keigo had stolen one and used it to prank call him many times. It was a very expensive technology.

Kale finished with an exasperated sigh, "—this excuse for a security system. I don't know why he insists on doing that every time someone comes here."

"Password?" the voice asked again, this time a little more insistently.

"You know it's me!" Kale retorted.

"No exceptions."

Kale let out an explosive sigh, and reluctantly said, "Zephyr."

The bars immediately receded into their hiding places, and the door clanged a little as the huge deadbolts that held it shut began to slide out of the locking wells in the steel door.

"You make it seem so tedious," Ichigo noted.

Kale graced him with a small snort of derision. "Try doing that every single day, even when most of the people in the base know who you are."

Questions were swimming through Ichigo's head like a huge school of fish. What organization had he been talking about? Was this the base for that organization? Who was in it? What was its purpose? Why was the base located inside a club?

As if he'd read Ichigo's mind, Kale said, "This is the base of operations for an organization dedicated to fighting the demons you met some time ago."

The door eased open with a growling moan, and led downwards through a spiral staircase, which was also made of grayish steel.

Kale went first, and Ichigo followed. Upon reaching the end of the staircase, the steps opened up onto a large, circular catwalk that overlooked a large dome filled with activity. Within was a conglomeration of several sections, including an elaborate tech center and even a sparring floor.

"Welcome," Kale said, "to the Underworld."

The dome was _humongous._ Ichigo had no doubt that it would have been able to encompass most of his school grounds. All the activity was impossible to comprehend, and how it was all so easily hidden away boggle Ichigo's mind. Only a half-hour ago he'd been on the dance floor trying to escape the writhing mass of bodies, unaware that a hive of activity was thrumming several meters underfoot.

"This is where we coordinate our attacks and prioritize defensive actions," someone said from Ichigo's left. He turned and looked to see a grizzled youth climbing the stairs to the catwalk. He wore a black suit and tie, with shoes that were so polished that he wouldn't have been surprised if he could see his reflection in them.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, correct?" the suit asked. He extended a hand and said, "I'm Silas, Head of Security and Defensive Strategist. I am SIC #1."

Ichigo took his hand and shook it, asking, "SIC?"

"Second in Command," Kale answered lightly. "Mathis designated him as one of his lieutenants. If Mathis is not present, Silas and I call the shots. And yes, before you ask, I'm SIC#2."

Silas gestured to the stairs. "Come with us. We have a lot to talk about."

They made to go down the stairs, but Ichigo stopped. "Wait. Let me get Rukia."

Silas turned to look at Ichigo, while Kale continued downstairs. He had an inexplicable expression on his face that bordered on disapproval.

"Is she the one Mathis spoke disdainfully of?" he inquired.

Ichigo bristled a little. "Possibly."

The suit said nothing for a few seconds, mulling the decision over in his head.

"We will record whatever we discuss so that she may hear at a later time." Without waiting for a response, he turned and continued down the stairs after Kale.

Ichigo was torn. He knew that if Rukia was there, she would have wanted to ask many questions, but the finality in Silas's tone and the fact that Mathis seemed to resent Rukia kept him rooted to the spot.

What could he do?

"Hurry up, Kurosaki!" Kale called. "We don't really have as much time as it seems we do."

What _should_ he do?

Wordlessly, he followed the two young men down the stairs.

For some reason he felt more anxious than he had been in the past few fights he'd been involved in.


	5. A Proposition

A/N:

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been almost a year since my last update. I'm actually having serious writer's block regarding the story, so I sat and brainstormed a bit. I have a lot of future events mapped out, but am having difficulty segueing into those plot points from where I currently am. I already have a bulk of Chapter 6 written out, but I'm trying to iron out the kinks. Please bear with me and if you have any ideas regarding plot development as well as the usual constructive criticism, by all means share it with me. I hope you enjoy the story so far!

Mood Music:

None

**Chapter 5: A Proposition**

Ichigo's guilt in not getting Rukia was quickly stifled by the sheer enormity of the dome, this 'Underworld', as Kale had called it. From above, the dome looked humongous. Inside, it was a labyrinth from which there was no hope of escape without guidance.

He passed the sparring floor he'd seen earlier, and saw a wall that had not been visible from his previous vantage point. Weapons of dozens of origins and types hung on the wall, ranging from spears and swords to hammers and maces. He noticed that they were all made of a certain diamond-grey metal, and that there was only one of each weapon type on the wall.

He continued on, following Kale and Silas closely so that he wouldn't get lost, and began to notice the same diamond-grey metal everywhere.

The support posts seemed to be made of the same material, as were many of the hardware components of all the tech that he saw. When Kale and Silas stopped to speak with someone, Ichigo ran a finger along the strange dark-grey metal. It felt smooth and unblemished, not something he would have expected of a support column that held up several tons of structural weight. No industrial metal-worker could be capable of such strong and pristine work.

"Oi. Let's go," Kale said, motioning to a door to a square vault that was made of the same metal Ichigo saw throughout the Underworld.

With some measure of apprehension, he grasped the handle of the door and opened, entering a rather opulent office that contrasted sharply with the outer appearance. The same walnut paneling he'd seen before covered the walls, and a lush, dark-brown carpet caressed his now-bare feet (he'd left his shoes outside as per Silas's request). An abstract painting comprised of several black slashes against a white canvas adorned the wall behind the two desks, and a light resembling a chandelier illuminated the room with a soft, yellow-white glow that was bright enough to provide adequate light for vision, but comfortable enough that even looking at the light directly caused little more than minor discomfort.

"Please, take a seat," Silas said, gesturing at one of the plush armchairs in front of the desks.

"I'm not being interrogated, am I…?" Ichigo asked warily, sitting down in the proffered chair.

"On the contrary," Silas said, approaching the rear of his desk and pulling his chair underneath him, "_you_ will be interrogating _us_. I am sure you have many questions about this new situation…"

"…And we're going to help you understand everything you can," Kale finished, kicking up his feet on his desk." Silas shot Kale a glance loaded with irritation, eyes bouncing back and forth from Kale's eyes to his feet.

"Can you ever sit properly?" Silas asked, a slight edge creeping into his voice.

Kale must have detected this hostility and grumbled, pulling his legs off the desk and mumbling under his breath. Ichigo was sure he caught something along the lines of 'mom' and 'unnecessary lecturing', but he couldn't be sure.

Silas continued, "You may ask any questions you like—."

"Tell me more about Mathis," Ichigo blurted before he could stop himself.

"—except for that one," Kale said, shaking his head. "You really are predictable."

"Fine," Ichigo said sheepishly. "What's the purpose of this…Underworld?"

"An excellent question," Silas said, leaning forward with his elbows on his desk and fingers laced together. "One we are quite prepared to answer."

"As you have already engaged in battle with these beasts before, you are probably already familiar with their violent nature. As Mathis explained, they are able to plan coordinated attacks, and know how to adapt to their enemies and their fighting styles. These are the Minors."

Ichigo was confused. _He's not answering my question, _he thought. He opened his mouth to interrupt, but Kale held up a finger. Ichigo complied and waited.

"The Minors are a part of the 7 Legions of Hell. They are the foot soldiers that enter the realm of the living before any major invasion. A large quantity of Minors in any location usually indicates an incoming attack of some sort. The Underground works tirelessly in multiple locations across the world to meet and suppress these attacks."

Kale took over and gestured to the door and what lay beyond. "This base is new here, about eight weeks old. We had the club constructed as a cover for it within those eight weeks, and we've paid off all the right individuals to make sure that the underground dome remains secret. It was built because we detected a hive of activity moving across Japan, and we projected the endpoint to be this town. So we had the dome rush-constructed so that our organization could situate itself in the local area."

"To continue with our explanation of what exactly the Underworld does," Kale said, leaning back into his chair a little, "we are the living world's white blood cells. We detect potential 'outbreaks' of demonic activity and we suppress and contain it. Our ultimate goal is to completely seal off Hell from the living world."

Ichigo nodded, beginning to understand the underpinnings of the Underworld with every sentence. "What are the other ranks of the 7 Legions?"

Silas pulled out a desk drawer and pulled out a brown lacquered briefcase. He opened the case and turned it to face Ichigo. Inside, Ichigo saw several schematics, and realized these were the 'ranks' he was asking about. But the writing was in English, and Ichigo felt embarrassed when he realized he was not yet well-versed enough in the language to understand it.

"Er…I can't exactly read English," Ichigo said sheepishly. "Yet," he added as an afterthought.

Silas took the sheaf of papers from the briefcase. "It's fine, we understand. We can't fully understand written Japanese yet either."

"Keep in mind that there are several classifications per class. For the sake of time, I'll limit the descriptions to that of the demons that are most often encountered or the most important."

He took the papers and began to read off the ranks as he skimmed each one.

"The first is the Minor, which you have already encountered and are familiar with. Its strength exceeds that of a human by a factor of three, and it has the ability to fire an unlimited amount of spines from grooves in its forearms. There are several variants of the Minor, each designed to function in different environments. Its armor is rated at 3 out of 10, and is composed of conventional bone plating."

"Next in the same rank is the Raider. The Raider is not as powerful as the Minor, but it is much faster and is slightly more intelligent. Its armor is concentrated on their limbs and their chest, leaving their backs completely exposed to attack. However, because of the Raider's blinding speed, it is unlikely for a normal fighter to land a hit on its unprotected back. Its armor is also rated at 3 out of 10, but is composed of smaller but denser bone plating that is streamlined to allow the Raider to strike faster and move through the air quicker."

"In Class 3, there is a demon designated as the Specter. The Specter is a powerful demon not because of its brute force strength, but because of its ability to exist in silence. While that sounds unimpressive, in reality trying to fight something you can't hear is incredibly difficult. Humans use aural sense to figure out the orientation of their opponents, and without it a fight can become nigh impossible to win."

"The Specter uses a special sword made of an unknown bone-metal compound that vibrates at a certain frequency, enabling it to slowly cut through conventional weaponry . Whatever sonic energy is produced by the sword is absorbed by the arm wielding the blade, amplifying its strength and silencing the blade's oscillations. Its armor is a porous bone plating that ranks at a 4 out of 10, and covers its entire body. It is strong enough to provide more than adequate protection, but is light enough to allow the Specter to keep up with its enemies in high-speed combat. Most of our forces are unable to fight demons beyond the level of the Specter."

Kale took over, taking the sheaf of papers from Silas. "This," he started, "is where things begin to get tricky."

"Class 4 demons are comprised of three ranks, the most commonly encountered of which is the Major. It's heavily armored, at least 10 times stronger than a normal human, and can move at speeds that nearly rival that of the Raider. These guys are field lieutenants. Bigshots that can hold their own against any above-average group of our fighters."

"They have a special type of armor that distinguishes them from regular ground forces, with strips of an unknown bio-metal providing extra defense in key points. Their armor runs at about a 6 on our scale, but thankfully Class 4 demons and on aren't that numerous, so we can overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Eventually. The next demon, however, solves that problem for the 7 Legions."

Kale moved to the next page and sighed. "I _hate_ this guy. Class 5 demon, the Ironclad. This guy is _covered_ in a bio-metallic exoskeleton that's nearly impervious to all forms of damage. That's the only reason that they're ranked higher than the Majors; they're that much tougher to crack. Their armor ranks at a 9 out of 10, the highest of any infantry-class demon."

"Majors are almost always accompanied by a pair of Ironclads, and these guys solve the problem of getting surrounded because they've got _four_ armored arms, each one wielding an axe-like weapon called a Hammerblade. They can clear out entire _groups_ of our people, regardless of rank, in a matter of seconds. Their only weakness is the fact that their intelligence is slightly…lacking, so the easiest way to beat one is to outsmart it."

"And the last guy," Kale said with a dark expression, "is the strongest infantryman of the 7 Legions, and is the only demon in Class 6 that isn't General-Class."

The lights abruptly cut out and a screen behind Kale and Silas dropped down. A video began to play, showing a rural battlefield in the midst of a fight between the Minors Ichigo had seen before and a handful of other demons he'd not yet encountered.

He saw a demon flit in and out of the camera's visual range and assumed he was seeing the Raider in action, and saw how it moved at a speed comparable to that of a Shinigami's shunpo. He also saw how weak it was, after it was intercepted by a swordsman and cut down in two slashes.

The same swordsman was then struck from behind by a fairly large demon with a strange-looking sword, and was unable to track the quick demon's movements. He realized then he was watching the Specter in combat, as the human swordsman seemed to be deaf to the obvious movements of the large demon. The camera must have been attached to somebody, because the screen started to jerk and vibrate as the holder ran forward. Ichigo saw a sword flit in and out of the corner of the screen, and confirmed that the camera was indeed attached to a human.

The screen abruptly jerked as the carrier encountered some form of indirect shock. The screen whirled as the carrier turned to face the source, and Ichigo saw a great muscled _monster_ that wore armor that looked almost exactly like the endoskeleton of a human. Its face resembled the human skull, though it was decidedly more angular and was colored crimson. A pair of glowing, green orbs glared relentlessly at the carrier of the camera. The red exoskeleton looked as though it were covered in blood, and the rippling muscles underneath gave Ichigo no doubt that the beast was capable of covering itself in human blood simply by ripping them apart.

It wielded a large pike, with a wickedly curved axe-blade attached to the tip in place of the pike's spear-tip. The beast deftly wielded the heavy-looking weapon with a single hand, and before the carrier could react in time, the monster rushed forth and cut him down with a single slash. The camera fell to the floor, and Ichigo saw the carrier, a young man no older than he was, trying to get back up, reaching for his sword. Just out of the camera's view angle, the monster strode up to the human warrior, placed its large foot on his back, and forced him down to the ground violently. An audible snap assaulted Ichigo's ears, and the human lay still. The creature let loose a horrid battle-cry, an unearthly shriek that struck anxiety and fear into Ichigo's heart.

The screen then went black, and Kale and Silas turned to face Ichigo. Their expressions were grim.

"These monsters," Silas said, "cannot be fully explained. They can only be fully understood when seen in action. We sent about fifty of our best into that warzone that day, and the only remaining demon was that beast you just saw. Only two of our men returned. One of them died from his wounds and the other was in possession of the camera that held the footage you just saw."

"Those demons are called Skulls. I am sure you can imagine why. Even Kale and I together would be hard-pressed to defeat any Skull, and I say 'any' instead of 'a' because Skulls are the only infantry units that are individually different. Each one is sentient, has its own unique personality, and wields a different weapon and utilizes a different fighting style."

"Do you know how many there are?" Ichigo asked, struggling to take in all of the information the two were throwing at him.

"Unfortunately, no," Kale said. "We've met about 15 of them, and killed 9. But we know that there are more of them, just not how many more. To make it easier to identify them, we give them codenames. There's the Fracas, the Ravager, the Abyss, et cetera et cetera."

"So, to the reason we called you here," Silas said, immediately drawing Ichigo's gaze.

"Mathis seems to have dismissed you as an unneeded resource. We do not concur with his decision," the suit explained.

"Wouldn't be the first time…" Kale muttered under his breath.

Ignoring his colleague, Silas plowed on. "You have great power and superior combat proficiency to most of our units, and presumably your allies are just as powerful. These 'Hollows' that you fight bear striking similarities to the lower-ranking demons of the 7 Legions, leading us to believe that there is some form of a connection between the two entities. We are currently doing research on these creatures you fight, and if we find that they are somehow connected to the 7 Legions, you and your allies could help us in our objective. After all, exterminating these beasts seems to be your goal, so you would be killing two birds with—."

"They aren't beasts," Ichigo interjected, fists clamping on the arms of his chair. He remembered Inoue's older brother, and how he had regained control over himself temporarily to stop himself from hurting his little sister. "They're human souls," he said. "They've just…lost their way."

Silas raised an eyebrow. "Fine. One way or another, you will be completing your objectives by assisting us in completing ours. By working in compliance with our regulations, you will have access to all of our technology and you will be briefed on all details that we glean from research or from the field."

He paused, as if waiting for a response from Ichigo. When he gave none, he said slowly, "Tell your 'Soul Society' friends about our deal. Whoever is willing to assist us will receive the very benefits I have promised you."

Ichigo responded, "I wouldn't count on getting a lot of volunteers."

"Why's that?" Kale asked curiously.

"It's Soul Society we're talking about here," Ichigo shrugged. "They've always been stubborn and unwilling to accept new things. And some of them don't particularly like me after…recent events."

"Well then how about just you?" Kale asked. "Any addition to our ranks is a welcome sight, seeing as we don't really find individuals capable of and willing to join our organization."

Ichigo said nothing, lost in thought.

"Kurosaki?"

"Let me think it over," Ichigo finally said. "Some of my friends might be able to help you out too, so just…give me time to decide."

"Time is not a luxury you nor your friends have, Kurosaki," Silas cut in. "If we're lucky the Legions' loss earlier this week will go unnoticed for only about two days. That is the absolute projected maximum period of time before they begin to mobilize their forces against us in this area."

Ichigo couldn't think. This was too much information assailing him at once in too short a moment.

"I…I need time."

"Do not make me repeat myself, Kurosaki. You do not _have_ time."

"How long can you give me?"

"Until tomorrow afternoon. We risk too much by waiting any longer," Silas said, standing.

Ichigo nodded grimly. He'd talk to Inoue, Chad, and Ishida to see if they could help with the situation.

_What about Rukia?_

Ichigo thought long and hard. Rukia was a valuable fighter, but she was also tied to Soul Society and bound to be obligated to follow its laws, especially after the little fiasco she had been involved in not so long ago. Would she be able to help? Or, more appropriately, would she be willing to help?

"I'll see what I can do," Ichigo finally said. "You mentioned a recording…?"

Silas deftly slipped a hand under his desk and whipped out a sophisticated-looking device. He clicked a button on the side and held it out to Ichigo, who took it gingerly, as if it would explode if he handled it too roughly.

"One last thing before you go," Kale said, springing up from his chair. "Something we need to show you before we let you leave."

Silas rose from his seat as well, and the two of them motioned to the door.

Ichigo stepped back out into the hive of activity and was assaulted by a cacophony of sounds. He heard a sparring session not too far from where they stood, someone seemed to be trying to tear the building down with a buzz-saw at the end of the corridor, and the whir of high-tech equipment reverberated in the air.

He suddenly envied Silas and Kale for having such a sound-proof office. If only his room were constructed of the same material…

Kale and Silas stepped forward and opened a door on Ichigo's left. Within, three heavily armed men with tac-masks and some form of body armor stood at attention in formation in front of the entrance to a large atrium-like room. The two at either side of the formation held large rifles with multiple attachments, and the center guard held nothing, arms crossed across his chest. Strapped on his back, however, was a long katana, and Ichigo had a feeling that this guard was more lethal than both of the gunmen put together.

"At ease, boys," Kale waved them off nonchalantly. Silas nodded, and the three stepped aside. Ichigo noted that as intimidating as they seemed with all their equipment, they were all around Ichigo's height.

Silas peeled off to the side where an elderly computer technician sat in front of several computers. The two conversed for several moments, while Kale tapped a few buttons to open the door that led into the atrium. He turned and motioned for Ichigo to follow.

The room was a dark-grey, similar to the metallic grey of the weapon racks he'd seen before on the sparring room wall. Tracks of dust and rubble riddled the floor, and a strange odor of something burning assailed Ichigo's nostrils.

"Prophet," Kale said as the door slid shut. "Begin the translocation process."

Ichigo was about to ask what this 'translocation' was, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of a computer screen. Several lines began to fly across the screen:

ONLINE/

/TRANSLOCATION INITIALIZATION UNDERWAY./

/WORKING…PLEASE WAIT./

/…/

/ALERT. UNIDENTIFIED PERSONNEL ON TRANSLOCATION PLATFORM./

"Relax, Prophet." Kale patted Ichigo on the shoulder. "He's with me."

/UNIDENTIFIED PERSONNEL, STATE YOUR NAME./

"Er…Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo said haltingly.

/VOICE PRINT RECORDED AND ARCHIVED. KUROSAKI ICHIGO, WELCOME TO TRANSLOCATION PLATFORM#3./

"What exactly is that?" Ichigo asked, peering at the screen.

"This is a rudimentary Artificial Intelligence designed by some of our techies," Kale explained. "He's called the Prophet. He's responsible for defensive engagements, predicting enemy movements, and reacting accordingly. Hence, the name 'Prophet'."

He turned back to the computer screen. "Continue with the translocation process, please."

/VOICE PRINT VERIFIED. ORDERS FROM SIC#2 RECEIVED./

/TRANSLOCATION PADS 1 AND 3 CHARGING./

/WORKING…PLEASE WAIT./

/query: DESTINATION?/

"Bring us to the Wasteland," Kale said. Ichigo looked at him with a slight bit of worry, but Kale raised his hand reassuringly.

/ALERT. VISITOR KUROSAKI ICHIGO DOES NOT HAVE PROPER CLEARANCE./

/query: PROCEED?/

"Proceed, Prophet," Kale said.

/VOICE PRINT VERIFIED. ORDERS FROM SIC#2 RECEIVED./

/TRANSLOCATION PROCESS COMMENCING./

/CHARGE AT 89%./

/DESTINATION DESIGNATED: WASTELANDbunkerID0071/

Kale looked over at Ichigo with a slight grin. "Brace yourself. The first time is always a shock."

Ichigo nodded and tensed his body.

/CHARGE AT 100%. TRANSLOCATING./

A low buzz began to course through Ichigo's body, as though he were conducting minor electric shocks all over. A flash of light blinded him, and then he was swallowed in darkness.

Moments later, he opened his eyes and was assailed by a wave of dry heat and biting sand particles.

"This is the Wasteland," Kale's voice called from behind him.

Ichigo yelled back, "What is this place?"

Kale strode forward and pulled Ichigo aside into a slit in the wall, which Ichigo realized was a door of some sort, because it slid shut after them and the sandstorm subsided, though the dry heat was still noticeable.

"It's an alternate plane between the living world and Hell," Kale explained. He nodded to the young men that paced the great circular corridor. Ichigo noted that they too carried weapons, ranging from swords and axes to complex rifles.

"Whenever the Legions mobilize for an attack, they have to push through this dimensional plane first. They can't transport large amounts of demons without a dedicated translocation point, like the one right there," Kale gestured back toward the door in the wall. "Most of the time they find one by accident and manage to use it to get into the real world. When that happens we find the translocation point and wrestle it back from them, or, if we can't, destroy it so that they can't use it anymore."

"You mean there are other buildings around like this one?" Ichigo asked, still a little dazed from all the information that was flooding through his head.

"That's right. But only at a few key locations. Some translocation points can only be used a limited number of times. Those we don't bother fortifying; we just destroy them. The ones that are rarer, the true translocators, those are the ones we try to take control of. True translocators are capable of moving matter from one plane to another and back an unlimited number of times."

"It's a constant battlefield out here, Ichigo," Kale said. He gestured towards a great spire that was visible from a window in the wall, and Ichigo saw a small flash of light, and realized that he was probably being scoped out by a sniper. "There are men posted at every corner of this facility to make sure we don't get caught unawares. The Prophet helps by scanning the surrounding regions for enemy movement, but it can only scan so far in this sandstorm, and human intuition always trumps technology in the long run, so we make sure to be on high alert at all times."

"Except for that guy, right?" Ichigo asked dryly, pointing out at a figure that was walking off into the distance, a cloak and hood covering his features.

"That's right. Except for that guy," Kale said with a snort. "You'll always see him out there."

"Should you choose to fight with us, you will be spending a lot of time here, so I decided it would best for me to show you."

With that, Kale led him back to the translocation pad, and after another jarring shock, Ichigo found himself back in the atrium.

After several more hasty questions and a few incomprehensible answers, Kale and Silas had walked Ichigo back to the entrance.

"Don't forget, Kurosaki," Silas reminded him, "You have until tomorrow afternoon to give us an answer."

"I'll do what I can," Ichigo replied grimly.

With that, Silas gave him a curt nod before striding off. Kale lazily waved at him before turning and pulling the door shut, leaving Ichigo alone again.

He left the long hallway and realized the music was gone. He checked his watch. 2:37 am.

"It's done already?" he wondered aloud. He'd always thought clubs were supposed to stay open for hours upon hours until the wee hours of the morning.

And then…

"Oh shit…Rukia!" The realization that he'd left her in the club for several hours hit him like a sledgehammer, and he rushed back out into the main area.

It was completely empty.

"Hey, carrot-top."

Ichigo turned and saw the bartender looking at him. He motioned to a note on the bar. "Some pretty little girl named Kuchiki left this for a Kurosaki Ichigo. That you?"

"Yeah, that's me," Ichigo said, darting forward in a hurry.

"Well you're an idiot for leavin' her alone like that, kid," the bartender said, nonchalantly wiping down a glass. "She seemed pretty down when she noticed you weren't around. Some fellas tried to make a move on her, but she kept saying she was waiting for someone. I'm assuming that 'someone' was you."

Ichigo felt the guilt from before come flooding back, and quickly read the note: _I'll be back at the house. I hope you had a good time doing whatever you were doing._

He crumpled the note in frustration. Why hadn't he brought her?

"Run, kid. You'll catch her. She didn't leave too long ago," the grizzled man said.

"Thanks…um—," Ichigo tried to figure out a way to address him when the bartender cut him off.

"Phil Riviano. And before you ask, yeah, I'm a part of the Underworld too. No other reason a grown Italian man would work as a bartender in Japan," the man stuck out a hand.

Ichigo took it and shook it once, firmly, before taking off out the door.

"Kid, wait—."

The door slammed shut as Ichigo raced down the street to hail a cab.

The bartender looked down at the bar at the 75$ he'd laid out for Ichigo to take, as per the offer on the promotion flyer.

"Oh well. I guess I'll hold onto it for him in case he comes back for it."


	6. Double Trouble

**Chapter 6: Double Trouble**

**Hey guys, it's been a pretty long time since my last update, I know, but I made up for it by making the chapter a little longer than usual. Now that the basis for the plot has been established, the story should start picking up pretty fast. I have future plot points mapped out and written already, so hopefully the story will pick itself up and move on as it was meant to. All your reviews have been very helpful (special thanks to LunaBianca for her multiple objective reviews, all of which helped me weed out problems in the story and reinforce the good points), and I look forward to hearing from more of you. Happy New Year!**

**Mood Music: Nothing Can be Explained (Instrumental): Sagisu Shiro**

***As you may or may not have noticed, many of the mood songs are from the Bleach OST. This is because most of them very clearly capture what I have in mind in tone, as well as the fact that most of you will be Bleach fans, and will be able to identify with the soundtrack of the show.**

Ichigo quietly opened the door and jumped a foot in the air when he saw his father sitting in a chair not too far from the door. His head was leaned back, and a line of drool decorated the corner of his mouth while he unceremoniously snored. He had obviously been waiting for Ichigo to return so that he could physically assault him.

"…Typical…" Ichigo said to himself after a moment of speechlessness.

He strode upstairs and opened the door to his room. It was dark. That wasn't a good sign; it meant Rukia had not waited for him to return and had gone straight to sleep.

He disrobed quickly and slipped into more comfortable clothes, tossing the recorder on the bed.

"Rukia?" he called softly. "Are you awake?"

"…Yes."

"Come out, I have some important things to tell you."

Ichigo detected a slight hesitation before the closet door opened and Rukia stepped out. "What is it?" she asked irritably.

Ichigo paused for a moment to figure out what to say next. He wanted to plow forward and ignore the strange tone in Rukia's voice, but a part of him figured that she was slightly upset that he'd essentially abandoned her at the club.

"Um…before I tell you everything, I'm…er…sorry for leaving you alone back there," Ichigo said, awkwardly.

"Why are you sorry?" Rukia asked pointedly. "I had a good time."

Ichigo's guilt was roughly pushed aside by his hot temper, and he replied, "You just seemed like you were upset!"

"Why would I be upset?" she snapped back, with equal vehemence.

"I don't know, you tell me!"

"Well, I wasn't so there!" She turned her head with a 'hmph!' and said no more.

Ichigo was slightly ticked. He'd offered an apology for something he knew had upset her, but she'd ignored it and brushed it off as if she wasn't hurt. For someone who was supposedly ten times older than him, she seemed to act like a typical sixteen year-old girl.

"Fine. You weren't," Ichigo said roughly, brushing past her to close the door. "I picked up a lot of info while I was gone. You need to hear this."

He sat on his bed and tossed the recorder to her. She fumbled with it and nearly dropped it, clutching it close to her body at the last second. "Why did you throw it at me? You could've broken it!"

"Your fault for not paying attention," he grumbled.

For the second time in so many minutes, she huffed and turned away, and Ichigo felt the same rush of aggravated irritation boil in his veins.

"Just play the thing, would you?"

She examined the device from multiple angles, turned it over in her fingers, and tried to open non-existent compartments…before looking at Ichigo and said lamely, "How do you work this thing?"

Ichigo held out his hand in exasperation. She tossed it at him and nearly hit him in the face. Ichigo resisted the incredibly strong urge to throw it back and searched for the playback button. Upon finding it he pressed it and promptly hurled it back at Rukia, who was ready this time and snatched it out of the air.

As Silas and Kale explained their world, Rukia's tensed shoulders relaxed, but her expression became stonier by the second. She seemed to be deeply concentrated on their words, and occasionally mouthed certain terms that caught her attention.

He heard the part where Kale and Silas were playing the video of the Skull for him, and he noticed Rukia's eyes had widened, her expression one of shock.

Ichigo felt a sneaking suspicion that Rukia was understanding something that he had completely missed. And wasn't letting him in on everything she knew.

"Rukia—," he started, making to get up and ask what she knew, but she held up a hand silently, motioning for Ichigo to wait.

"_How long can you give me?"_

"_Until tomorrow afternoon. We risk too much by waiting any longer."_

"_I'll see what I can do. You mentioned a recording…?"_

And with that, the two were plunged into silence.

Ichigo waited. Waited for Rukia to break the silence with something, anything. She had always taken the initiative in sharing information. She _always_ had information. Either from Soul Society or from her century of experience.

Finally, when the silence seemed to scream at him to act, he whispered, "Rukia…what do you know?"

"This is bad…" Rukia murmured. Her shocked expression now exhibited a trace of anxiety.

Ichigo gripped her shoulder and turned her around so that she was facing him.

"What do you know?" he asked, this time with a little more iron in his voice.

"Not much…" Rukia replied. "It was something I'd learned in a history class. A myth some of the professors refused to tell us about."

Ichigo sat back down. He had a feeling that what she was about to tell him would hit them both hard.

"Before the Shinigami Academy was created by the Captain Commander, Shinigami were selected from the spirit population by observation. Captains and their lieutenants would observe the masses and detect shreds of reiatsu here and there. Whenever they found a spirit like that, they gave them the choice to join the 13 Court Guard Squads. Apparently this went on for hundreds of years without a problem."

Rukia shook her head. "I wish I knew all the details…but the accounts the instructors gave us were fuzzy, at best."

She locked eyes with Ichigo and murmured furtively, "Something big happened. Something monumental. Two lieutenants and a captain were killed by an abomination. From that point on that's what they called it: the Abomination. It had some power that no one could read, and was nearly unstoppable, even with everyone in Sereitei after it, Shinigami or not. Eventually the Kido Corps came up with a powerful binding spell they called 'God-Shift'. They used it to displace the Abomination from Soul Society, and sent it into an alternate plane, where it would live forever in torment."

Ichigo shook his head, not understanding. "How does that have anything to do with these guys?"

Rukia fiddled with the recorder again, and, admitting defeat a second time, handed it to Ichigo. "Rewind it a little," she commanded.

He pressed the rewind button and waited a few seconds before playing again. The recording played the sounds of the video Kale and Silas had shown him of the Skull. After the sound of human bone snapping under the demon's foot, the Skull let loose the hellish cry, and Ichigo cringed a little. Rukia took the recorder from him and hit the pause button. She looked fairly concerned now.

"That roar was in our archives. After I heard the myth, I looked everywhere in the libraries and asked as many people as I could about it, being the curious student I was. The only traces of it I found were the audio files of some of the battles. Everything was so corrupted because of the fray, but I distinctly remember hearing that…that _unearthly_ shriek."

She stood still for several moments, contemplating something. She then looked up at Ichigo, fierce determination shining in her eyes, and, for the moment, temporarily forgetting their irritable exchange from minutes ago.

"We need to go to Soul Society," she said.

Ichigo nodded. "We'll get on it first thing in the morning since we don't have school—."

"No, I mean _now_."

"…Right now?"

"Yes."

Ichigo thought it over. While he was exhausted and his head still spun from trying to absorb all that information, Silas had made it very clear that time was of the essence. Going to Soul Society as soon as humanly possible was a logical step, and could be crucial in upcoming engagements.

Rukia continued, almost desperately. "I know what I heard, Ichigo. Soul Society needs to hear about this as soon as possible."

Ichigo nodded.

"Fine. Now."

Ichigo pulled the medallion from his underneath his pillow and gave it a light squeeze. Immediately, his Shinigami self popped out of his body. Rukia followed suit, swallowing a Soul Candy piece and transitioning into her Shinigami form.

With a wide flourish, she unsheathed her Zanpakuto and turned it like a key. The circular door that led into Soul Society opened up before them, hovering an inch off of Ichigo's room's floor.

Ichigo snorted at the sight. Rukia gave him a funny look and asked, "What?"

"I never thought I'd be going back to Soul Society through an actual gate," he replied, scratching his head.

"How did you get in last time?"

Ichigo remembered with slight apprehension the purple-black tunnel that had led into Soul Society from Urahara's makeshift gateway, and the 'Cleaner' or whatever Yoruichi had called it that had chased them relentlessly.

"You don't want to know…" he finally answered.

Two Hell Butterflies fluttered out of the gate, and alighted on the backs of the two Shinigami, who moved through the gate, and were subsequently engulfed in light.

The gate led into a narrow corridor, with a dirt floor like Ichigo had expected. But the dark, clay walls that were present in his previous visit were missing. Instead, a forest of bamboo reached upwards for an infinite distance into the pale-blue sky, breaching the clouds. Gentle rays of sunshine warmed Ichigo, and he breathed deeply. It smelled like freshly-cut grass.

Rukia snorted and began to march forward. Ichigo caught the sound and asked, "What?"

"Nothing," she replied curtly, striding forward with her head held high. She then jerked as she tripped on what appeared to be a bump in the dirt path and fell flat on her face with a loud yelp.

"…Are you ok…?" Ichigo asked hesitantly, squatting down next to her.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, blushing furiously and leaping to her feet, not bothering to wait for Ichigo.

"Hey! Wait up!" he called, getting to his feet and following her.

_What's up with her?_

"We don't have time, Ichigo," she said. "If you want to talk, we'll talk later."

Ichigo raged in his mind, _What the hell is up with you? Are you still mad or something?_

But out loud, he replied, "I got it."

The rest of the journey through the path was silent save their footfalls.

They exited into a large pavilion by what appeared to be the 13th Division's barracks, as Ichigo saw a small 13 adorning the entrance of one of the arches that led into the pavilion.

"You can choose where you exit?" Ichigo asked.

"We can only exit at locations in our Division's headquarters," she explained. "If it's out of the jurisdiction of our squad, we can't reach it to begin with."

Neither of them said anything after that, and simply walked in silence to the barracks.

Inside, Shinigami patrolled the halls, some carrying stacks of papers, others toting packages and satchels. All moved around with slow but deliberate grace, reminding Ichigo of schools of fish he'd once seen at the aquarium when he was younger. This struck him as a surprise, because he'd only seen the 11th squad barracks and briefly been to the 4th squad barracks. The Shinigami there had scurried around the halls frantically, like bees working in a hive. But here, it was calm. Relaxed, almost.

"Oh? If it isn't Rukia!" a chipper voice called from the hall on their right.

Ichigo turned and saw Captain Ukitake, holding a sheaf of papers and waving at the two of them cheerily.

Rukia smiled and walked up to her captain. "I've returned, Captain Ukitake."

"When are you going to stop being so formal with me, Kuchiki?" he laughed. "You can lighten up; we're not that strict on regulations here."

Rukia shrugged. "I'll try, Captain Ukitake. But let me get to the point. We have something very important for Soul Society to hear."

Ukitake asked quizzically, "What is so important that everyone needs to know about it?"

Before Rukia could answer, a large, fearsome reiatsu pressed down on them.

Without a word, Ichigo bolted out the door from which they came, screaming at the top of his lungs "CAN'T THIS WAIT, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD?"

Rukia then felt the pressure lift from her shoulders and heard the captain of the Eleventh Division, Zaraki Kenpachi, roar back, "COME BACK AND FIGHT ME, ICHIGO!"

Rukia shook her head, flabbergasted. "Do you remember the Abomination? The creature I was always asking about after you told me about it?"

Ukitake's kind expression hardened slightly. "I get the feeling that I won't like where this is going."

Rukia pulled from her robe the recorder Ichigo had obtained from Silas.

Ukitake examined it closely, turning it over in one hand. "What exactly am I supposed to do with this, Kuchiki?" he asked in confusion.

She took the recorder from him and proudly pressed the play button, at which Ukitake chuckled.

His mirth quickly died down as the man on the recorder explained everything about some Underworld organization and creatures from Hell.

"Do you know the individual that's speaking?" Ukitake asked.

Rukia shook her head. "No, Captain. Ichigo only met him about an hour ago. We are familiar, however, with some of the demons mentioned. We repelled a large of wave of the Minors described in the recording."

Ukitake shook his head. "I've never heard of spirits being able to get out of Hell once they've entered. Can we be sure that this isn't just a new strain of Hollow?"

"If they're really Hollows, someone must be manufacturing them, because they all looked identical."

"What do you suggest, Kuchiki?"

Rukia replied, "Do you think the Captain-Commander would be willing to commit a larger attack force to Karakura Town if we showed him this recording? Mathis said that the demons would be converging on the town from here on out, and it may be a good idea for us to fortify our defense there."

Ukitake cocked his head quizzically and asked, "Who is this Mathis?"

Rukia explained Ichigo's initial encounter with Mathis and how relations had seemed sour after the first battle and seemed only to get worse after the second. She then elaborated, explaining that Mathis had assisted in repelling the Minors from Karakura while she was incapacitated.

"Can you measure his strength at all?" Ukitake asked after several moments' contemplation.

"Not entirely. It's clear that he's powerful, but it's hard to decipher his power. He doesn't have any spiritual pressure, but he can still make physical contact with spiritual beings, and he possesses some sort of magic that resembles our kido."

"Then I wouldn't bother talking to the Captain-Commander," Ukitake said, shaking his head. "There are enough spiritual presences in Karakura; deploying any more Shinigami could cause damage to the town and its inhabitants. On top of that, it appears that there are already enough capable fighters in the region. It would be a waste of time and resources to send reinforcements when they are not needed."

Rukia nodded grudgingly. "In that case, is there any information regarding the Abomination that we could investigate? It seems like whatever the Abomination was, this 'Underworld' still isn't sure exactly what it is."

"I'll see what I can do, Kuchiki. In the meantime—," Ukitake began. However, he stopped mid-sentence and thought hard for several moments. He then said, "Perhaps we should indeed show this to the Captain-Commander right now."

Rukia looked confused. "Didn't you say it would be a waste of time?"

"That may not be the case. The Captain-Commander has lived for a very long time, and has borne witness to many things that some of us have only heard rumors of. It is very likely that he knows what this is about as well. In the unlikely event that he has no idea, we will defer to his judgment."

Rukia nodded and took the recorder back, placing it within the folds of her uniform. Ukitake called over a subordinate and relegated the stack of papers and a set of instructions to him. Then he motioned for Rukia to follow him, and then flash-stepped out of the barracks, with Rukia in hot pursuit.

"So."

Rukia felt a bead of sweat roll down her cheek as the Captain-Commander clicked the recorder once again to stop Silas's explanation. Despite his content demeanor, the Captain-Commander exuded so much authority and suppressed reiatsu that Rukia was afraid that even a single motion would be met with immolation. The gravity of the single syllable that had left his lips reminded Rukia that she was speaking with the one of the strongest spiritual entities in history.

"Is there anything you know of that you may help us with this crisis?" Ukitake asked, apparently unfazed by the Captain-Commander's crippling aura. "If we lose Karakura Town, we may lose one of our strongest human assets, and it may be possible that this organization can provide assistance in the future as well."

The grizzled old man rose from his seat and strode to the railing. He seemed to ponder the situation while gazing over the banister at the whole of Seretei. Then, without moving from his place, he spoke.

"All Shinigami barring Captain Ukitake, Kuchiki Rukia, and Chojiro Sasakibe are to remove themselves from earshot immediately."

Instantly, a dozen Shinigami in black garb appeared in rank and file behind Ukitake and Rukia, and uttered "Yes, Captain!" in unison, before simultaneously disappearing.

"Lieutenant."

The white-haired Shinigami grunted an affirmative and murmured an inaudible mantra. Following its completion, he smacked the wall behind him with a swift rap. The seams of a doorway etched themselves into the wall, and the part of the wall that filled the outline simply disintegrated, leaving a small entrance with stairs that spiraled down to a dark unknown.

"Follow," the grizzled Captain commanded, as he made his way to the door and down the stairs. "And bear in mind that what you see and hear will not be divulged to _anyone_."

He turned his head and added, "That includes the Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Rukia felt her ears get hot; the last statement had clearly been directed towards her. Even though she wanted to ask why, her gut told her that this was not the time to question orders, and she simply nodded.

Ukitake and Rukia followed closely behind the Captain-Commander, who descended the stairs with deliberate steps. At the end of the staircase was a brass-set door with silver trimming. From it, Rukia was able to detect faint traces of reiatsu, and she realized that there had been defensive kido placed on it to prevent intruders from gaining access to whatever lay beyond it.

The Captain-Commander laid his hand on the door, and it creaked open slowly, revealing a giant room with many complex systems and control panels in every corner. But the room was dominated by its single largest feature: a screen that stood 50 feet tall and stretched just as wide. The screen was blank for the moment, leaving Rukia to wonder what function could possibly necessitate such a large screen.

"Captain Kurotsuchi," the Captain-Commander intoned.

From the wall to Rukia's right a humanoid shape began to bulge out, startling Rukia and causing to jump away with a yelp. The monochrome-faced captain grinned eerily at Rukia's shock, and replied to the Captain-Commander's unspoken order, "Of course, Captain Yamamoto."

He rapidly typed in a series of commands into the nearest command console, and the screen began to buzz to life. A shimmer rushed through the room, and suddenly, Rukia found herself stepping on broken wooden beams and rubble. She placed her hand on her Zanpakuto, but Ukitake gently put his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Kuchiki. This isn't real."

Rukia didn't understand what he meant at first, but then realized that the screen hadn't been a screen at all, but something like a hologram projector. They were now reliving some moment of history that had been deemed important enough to necessitate its own records room. But what could possibly be that important?

"Look. See where we stand," the Captain-Commander's gravelly tones cut through the air.

Rukia complied, and noticed that the in the rubble were strips of black, tattered cloth and collections of swords. It hit her with the force of a freight train. They were reliving a moment in the history of Soul Society. If it had been brought to this state of ruin, then there was only one possible cause.

Almost immediately following her mental analysis a dreadful shriek that chilled Rukia to the bone resounded through the air. Her grip on her Zanpakuto grew tighter, and sweat began to form on her brow. She knew that cry. It was the same cry that had been on the recording from Silas, and the same one she'd heard in her days in the academy. The cry of the Abomination. She looked up and saw upon Soukyoku Hill a giant, looming shadow that seemed to be locked in combat with some Shinigami, presumably Captains and Lieutenants. The silhouette was barbed and spiny, with horns jutting out of its armored skull.

The beast held a flaming sword made of a blood-stained, crimson metal in its right hand, and in its left, carried a dark blue blade that seemed to freeze the air around it. It was adorned in a grey armor inscribed with Hell Runes, an ancient language used by the oldest demons of Hell that was lost to the Shinigami once a new order had been established, and from the armor protruded many bladed spikes on which the bodies of several Shinigami seemed to be skewered.

Rukia shuddered from the mere illusion of the creature's aura. It was similar to reiatsu, but had a highly corrosive element to it that made Rukia feel like she would slowly wither away if she stood too close to the monster.

"As you can see, this monstrosity is very well-armed, and was able to fend off most of the Captain-class Shinigami that were present during this time," Mayuri began to explain, while gesticulating wildly. A certain fervor burned in his eyes, and his motions spoke of an insane fascination and intrigue. "Even now, if all the Captains joined forces to fight it, we would be hard-pressed to fend it off."

"The most fascinating aspect of the creature, however, is a recorded message that reports an unusual ability that the monster possesses," the scientist continued, tapping a few more buttons and bringing up an audio recording of a frantic Shinigami scientist.

"_It just keeps getting stronge—as if it's—ating us. We keep trying to run away from it, but—finds us. If we f—t it it just shrugs it—resumes killing us. I think it feeds off negative emotion and confl—. That's the only explanation that makes—."_

A loud squelching noise cut off the recording.

"This recording was made by a pre-Research and Development Group scientist, so naturally we don't have much to go off of, but it leads me to believe that this monster is virtually unkillable," Mayuri said, a conflicting mix of curiosity and disappointment contorting his face. "If we were to try to harm it, the conflict of the fight would make it stronger. If we were to hide in fear, it would feed off of the negative energy, trace it to us, and still kill us."

"The point is, we as Soul Society are not capable of dealing with a threat like this on our own," the Captain-Commander spoke in gravelly tones. Mayuri grudgingly nodded his head in affirmation of the grizzled Shinigami's words. "I have done much research in my spare time regarding a creature like this, and have had little to no acceptable results. To stand a chance against something like this, we require hard data, data that your new allies may be able to provide," he added, his black and white face flexed with anxiety and anticipation. "The recording you have provided us with coincides with the cry of the Abomination, so we are forced to assume that its return is imminent. We must collect as much information about it as we can if we are to repel any potential attack."

"However, we cannot afford to take part in their war. With three of our Captains defected, we are still trying to recover, and our battle strength is at an all-time low," Mayuri said, scratching his chin with the abnormally long nail on his middle finger. "Which is why we require _you_," he said, pointing at Rukia with the long nail, "to obtain as much data as possible from this Underworld organization. Should you fail, I will experiment on you mys—."

"What he means is that if you can't obtain any data, try to negotiate with their leader," Ukitake cut in. "We may not be able to offer our assistance in their battle yet, but once we've sorted out our own problems we may be able to help them."

Rukia stood back, a little surprised at what was being asked of her. The last statement had clearly been a sugarcoat to cushion the weight of the true request.

"You…want me to spy on them?"

The Captain-Commander opened an eye to lock with Rukia's. She did not falter, her disbelief overpowering her fearful respect.

"It is an underhanded scheme, but we have little choice in the matter. Pay attention to what is happening now," he said, turning slowly to Soukyoku hill.

A great thunderclap resounded through the air, and a dimensional rip appeared behind the monstrosity. It dug its weapons into the hill, trying to resist an invisible force that was pulling it towards the rip. But the pull proved to be too strong, and the demon's grip steadily loosened. Before its fiery sword lost purchase in the earth and it was thrown into the void, it spoke, tones of bass rumbling the air through like an earthquake: "I will return when your blaze has waned and when the avenger has become one with the changeling. And I will destroy everything you have protected today. Mark. My. Words."

Then it was pulled into the dimensional tear, and the beast was no more. The rip closed, and the corrosive spiritual aura dissipated like a mist before a strong wind.

The sudden silence that ensued save the flickering of flames and creaking of downed wooden spars was deafening, yet Rukia found herself more apprehensive than ever, thanks to the foreboding nature of the monster's final words. The anxiety of the Captains made sense; the waning blaze must have symbolized Soul Society's weakened state. But what had it meant by the avenger becoming one with the changeling?

And on top of that, the Captain-Commander was essentially ordering her to perform espionage on their newfound 'allies', despite their already tenuous alliance. This wasn't a favorable situation, and Rukia didn't know if she could shoulder the burden on her own.

"Why am I not allowed to divulge this information to Ichigo, Captain?" she asked Ukitake.

He sighed and smiled. "This is a matter that us Soul Society Shinigami must handle. You know what he's like. The moment you let wind of any problems out, he'll devote all of his energy to it. We can't let him do that now, not with his hometown's safety at stake."

"Kurosaki Ichigo has served his purpose in revealing the traitor Captains well enough," the Captain-Commander said. "We cannot ask of him anymore." He then turned and motioned for the Rukia and Ukitake to follow him back up to his office. Mayuri slunk back into the shadows and disappeared.

Rukia was crestfallen. Soul Society issue or not, she'd figured she would always be able to confront a matter with Ichigo at her side. But to go it alone…She was afraid her power alone would be insufficient.

_No…I have to be strong. For the sake of Ichigo and Karakura Town,_ Rukia thought to herself.

A petulant side of her then proceeded to remind her of her 'quarrel' with Ichigo, at which she shook her head. She knew he wasn't at fault, she had just been a little upset. At what, though? The fact that he had left her alone to procure useful, important information?

She smacked her head as she climbed the last step. _Stop it, you're fussing over a __**16/17 **__year old human's actions, even though he's done nothing but help you._

_But I'm his age by Soul Society Standards._

_Why does that matter?_

"Kuchiki?"

Rukia snapped out of her mental tirade and looked up at Ukitake. He looked puzzled, and Rukia suddenly realized they were back in the squad barracks.

"I'm sorry Captain, I wasn't paying attention."

Ukitake smiled kindly and asked, "Were you considering telling Ichigo about all of this?"

Rukia felt her cheeks flush a little at the mere mention of his name and lied, "Yes."

Ukitake understandingly placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Rukia. You'll be able to take care of yourself on this one. He must respect your position as a Shinigami of Soul Society."

Rukia nodded, feeling slightly guilty for her little deception. But she herself wasn't fully sure what was going on in her head. She couldn't telegraph this confusion to her commanding officer. So she stood at attention and gave her captain a curt nod.

"Understood, Captain Ukitake," she said.

The old man laughed again and said, "There's no need to be so formal, Kuchiki. Lighten up a little."

"Yes, Captain."

"You mean Ukitake-san."

"Yes, Ca—. I mean…Yes, Ukitake-san," Rukia said, not entirely comfortable with addressing her captain with the more familiar nomenclature.

Ukitake smiled and strode to his office, leaving a very confused Rukia to brood on her own. With a heavy sigh and a shake of her head, the petite Shinigami turned and flash-stepped out of the barracks.

Ichigo let out an explosive sigh as he cradled his head. Ditching the mad Captain of the 11th division had been a grueling task, but now finding his way back to Rukia would be an even more taxing endeavor, considering he was incapable of tracking individual reiatsu signatures in such a spiritually rich area like Soul Society. Admittedly, he wasn't able to do so even in spiritually remote locales, but at least in places like that he could use the freaky ribbon thing to find her.

He tried reaching out to find her and was rewarded with a blast of reiatsu from his sheathed sword, which propelled him from his perch in a large tree and unceremoniously dumped him on the ground.

"OW," he swore, getting to his feet and shaking his head to clear the stars from his vision.

As he stood, a small pond at his feet caught his attention. He'd landed on a small bridge over a water feature, and many koi were swimming around idly beneath his feet. The surface of the water, however, was clear enough, and Ichigo saw in it his reflection.

He'd never been the type to think too far into the future, but at times like this, he couldn't help it. He was unique in that he was a part of two interconnected worlds, and that the two worlds were being encroached on by a third that was threatening to suck him in just like the Shinigami world had. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, though he knew it was slightly irritating to know that he had no say in any of this.

The surface of the water was broken by a koi that had changed direction in the water very quickly, and as it came to a still, Ichigo noticed something strange about his reflection. His skin seemed to be paler than—.

No.

The image he saw in the water was no longer his, but that of his inner Hollow.

He tore at his face, searching for the mask that he knew would accompany the possession—and found nothing.

"What the hell?" He cursed under his breath as he turned his attention back to his Hollowfied reflection.

He was cackling, though Ichigo couldn't hear his insane voice, something he breathed a sigh of relief for. His blood chilled at the mere sight of his insane counterpart, and he clenched his fists.

"What do you want?" yelled Ichigo.

To his utter shock, the reflection jumped from the water at Ichigo and screeched, "CONTROL!"

Then Ichigo was awoken from what he realized was a hallucination by a familiar voice with deliberate, proud inflection.

"You saw something just now, did you not?"

Ichigo did not remove his gaze from his reflection, which had reverted to his own image. "Yes."

The icy, elder Kuchiki was silent for a moment, before continuing, "I should ask why such an impudent child is in my backyard, but it seems that you were meant to be here."

He drew his Zanpakuto and tapped the very tip of the blade on the surface of the water, producing a single, clean ripple that replaced Ichigo's image with a static image of his inner Hollow that followed his body motions with the exception of his face, which was twisted into the same insidious grin that Ichigo remembered.

"This pool of water, it seems, has the ability to show the greatest fear of a man with a simple disturbance of its surface. But it does not always do this." The elder Kuchiki tapped the surface of the water once more, and Ichigo's reflection turned to normal once more. "Only the most powerful of fears are revealed, and they all have one thing in common: they have put others around the viewer at risk."

Byakuya turned looked up into the distance offered by the slightly elevated Kuchiki yard over Soul Society and said, "You saw your other form, did you not?"

Ichigo was surprised Byakuya had managed to guess it so quickly, and was unable to respond for several seconds. He looked down at his reflection again and grudgingly admitted, "Yes."

The two stood in silence as the past washed over both of them. Ichigo remembered waking up to a heavily injured Byakuya who had, just moments before, had Ichigo's life at the tip of his Zanpakuto. Byakuya must have remembered the confusion brought about by the sudden, overwhelming form of an Ichigo that wasn't quite Ichigo, as his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. You pose a danger to those around you so long as that form of yours remains unrestrained. For their sake, you must learn how to control it, or, if all else fails, destroy it."

Ichigo knew by 'those around you' Byakuya actually meant her little sister, Rukia. He'd heard about how an injured Byakuya had taken Ichimaru Gin's Shinsou to the chest at the risk of death in order to shield her, and had always suspected that part of him cared deeply about Rukia's well-being, despite his chilly demeanor.

"Easier said than done," Ichigo replied softly.

"I am aware of this."

The two stood there in silence for another few seconds before Byakuya turned and walked back to his manor.

Ichigo watched him go and called, "That's it? You're not going to threaten to kill me horribly or something if Rukia does get hurt?"

Without turning, the captain replied, "I am not blind, Kurosaki Ichigo. I can see the strength of your relationship, and that it will ensure her safety." He paused, then added, "but if you insist, I will slice you into little ribbons with Senbonzakura should you fail to subjugate your alter-ego."

With that, the elder Kuchiki continued his way back to what Ichigo now knew was his manor, not even deigning to look back at the substitute Shinigami standing in his backyard.

Ichigo let out a single, mirthless laugh at Captain Kuchiki's words and turned to face his reflection once more. How would he go about suppressing his inner Hollow? Could he? The only time he'd fought with his Hollow before was at the behest of Zangetsu, and that had been against his will. He had no idea how to do it on his own.

Lost in thought, Ichigo was unaware of Rukia standing next to him, looking at his stony face intently. She spoke softly, calling his name. "Ichigo?"

He snapped out of his reverie and turned to face her. "Rukia."

The two looked at each other for a second, unable to find words to express themselves. Then Ichigo said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Rukia asked. "You only did what you had to do, and there is absolutely no reason for you to be apologizing for it.

Ichigo frowned. "But you seemed pretty upset before."

Rukia struggled to keep her face from flushing, and replied hotly, "I was…being childish. Don't worry, I'm not really angry with you for anything. So don't be sorry. If anything, I should be apologizing for my attitude earlier. It was uncalled for."

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo said, looking back at the pool.

Rukia had been expecting him to be a little more irritable, and was surprised at his quick acceptance. But she remained silent, leaving the two speechless and mulling over their respective problems, before a messenger flashed into existence next to Rukia.

"Kuchiki Rukia! Kurosaki Ichigo! I bring news from Reconnaisance Team of the 6th Division! Karakura Town is currently under attack!"


	7. Just a hunch

******This is an earlier release for a chapter than I had expected, but an idea struck me for the following chapter and I figured that a more thematic approach would be conducive to the overall feel and flow of the plot. So I figured that this chapter would have to do on its own, though there's very little plot advancement/character development, which is something I hate to see in a piece that I put out. It's also a LOT shorter than I usually write my chapters, so please bear with me. Last chapter was a bit longer, so hopefully it balances out. The battles will start to intensify now, and character relations will be emphasized in following chapters. Please keep reading, reviewing, and critiquing my work, and thanks to everyone who is following the story thus far. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it.**

**Mood Mu****sic: Skream - Exothermic Reaction**

**Chapter 7: Just a hunch**

Ichigo panted as his final flash-step carried his body out of the bridge connecting Soul Society to the world of the living like a bullet from a rifle. The momentum caused him to skid a couple of yards before he came to a stop mid-air.

He gaped at the images his eyes were feeding him; though none of Karakura town had taken significant damage, there were demons crawling all over the area, and groups of Shinigami were hard-pressed in defeating them. They were outnumbered 10 to 1, and it seemed that their numbers were slowly dwindling while the demons seemed to be multiplying.

Renji was holding his own against a large group of Minors, swinging Zabimaru around like a flail and occasionally lopping off one of the Minors' heads. The monsters kept a staggered circle formed around him, and seemed unable to move in for attack. But Ichigo could see the fatigue in Renji's labored breathing, and the lethargy with which he swung his Zanpakuto.

Ishida and Inoue were fighting with two unknown Shinigami, both of whom protected the humans from attack from the rear. Inoue kept Santen Kesshun up to deflect attacks from Ishida, who fired his arrows from behind the shield as an archer would from behind a rampart. Dozens of demons fell, left and right, as the fusillade of arrows skewered them mid-leap or as they crawled up the wall of their building. But fatigue was clear in their eyes as well, and Ichigo saw that Ishida's bandaged arm had begun to bleed again, from overuse of his bow.

Occasional blasts of blue light from a distance told Ichigo that Chad was also fighting as many of the demons off as possible, on his own.

No matter how many of the devils fell, it seemed that they were replaced by three more. Mathis was nowhere to be seen, and Ichigo cursed under his breath. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed his help to fend off this many demons from Karakura.

"Dance! Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia cried from behind Ichigo. A flurry of snow encircled her Zanpakuto, before turning it into a pure white blade with a long, silky tassel trailing from the sword's pommel. Ichigo gaped at the Zanpakuto, marveling at its beauty of form and how appropriate it seemed for her. Ichigo snapped out of his momentary trance to resurvey the battle below.

She leapt to Renji's side and blasted a cone of ice towards a patch of Minors, clearing them out and opening up the staggered circle. Renji seemed empowered by the reinforcement, and whirled his weapon even faster, expanding the defensive sphere into an offensive whirlwind of death. Several Minors wilted under the attack, but were still replaced by several more.

_They're crawling out of every nook and cranny…_Ichigo thought to himself. _Where the hell are they coming from?_

He shook his head and took his stance. This was no time for thinking. He had to act before their limited forces were overwhelmed.

"Bankai!" he roared, sending a bolt of reiatsu flying towards a thick patch of Minors and Raiders that were threatening to overwhelm a group of Shinigami. The beasts burned away from the force, and Ichigo leapt down to assist the Shinigami with the stragglers.

The fighting was as arduous as he'd expected. The Minors fell by the dozens before Tensa Zangetsu's bite, but were not missed, as more would appear to assault the beleaguered defense force. It was like a pipeline had burst, and devils were just spilling out into Karakura.

Ichigo slew a pair of Raiders that had been attempting to flank him, and rushed forward to stab a third through the eye. Ignoring their death rattles, he leapt forward to engage with another group of Minors when a sudden burning sensation cut into his back. He whirled to face his enemy, but saw nothing. His assailant was not done, however, and cut into his left shoulder, frustrating him and causing him to lash out. His sword met with a vibrating blade of bone, and Ichigo knew he was facing his first Specter. He turned and saw the large demon glaring back at him with malice. It slashed Ichigo's Zanpakuto away before raising its weapon for a heavy overhead strike. Or was it?

At the last second, it veered its weapon away and cross-swiped Ichigo, leaving him with a minor cut on his chest. Ichigo now understood what Silas had meant about it being difficult fighting a silent warrior. Its large and obvious motions were not as heavy as he'd imagined; what he thought was a heavy swing had actually been a feint, and if the Specter had made any sound as it moved, Ichigo would easily have been able to detect and counter its feint.

Ichigo jabbed forward like a fencer, finding purchase in a groove in the beast's forearm. A loud crunch told Ichigo that the plating on the Specter was not as thick as it looked, and he hacked away at the monster without abandon, using heavy blows to crack through the Specter's armor. Soon, its armor was cracked and crumbling, and Ichigo took the lull in the fighting to sever its head from its shoulders. The body buzzed before letting out a loud wave of sound, presumable the energy that had been suppressed to keep its motions silent.

Ichigo gathered his bearings and leapt forward to engage the clump of Minors, who were trying to overwhelm a trio of Shinigami.

For at least half an hour more the battle raged on, with the demonic onslaught showing no signs of letting up. Shinigami from the advance recon squad fell left and right, and their compatriots abandoned the battle to carry their wounded to safety. The number of defenders was quickly dwindling to a couple dozen, and the demons' numbers continued to burgeon.

"There's too many!" Chad yelled from the side, punching through a stray Minor and then firing off a blast of energy to disintegrate a Raider that had been trying to jump him from behind the Minor. Ichigo grunted an affirmative as a pair of Specters tried to muscle their way past him towards an unprotected Ishida. Inoue tended to one of the two Shinigami that had been protecting their backs, and was unable to devote her attention to defending Ishida, a chink in their formation that Renji had been forced to fill.

"I thought this Mathis guy was on our side!" Renji bellowed. "Where the hell is he now?"

"Why are you asking me? I barely know the guy!" Ichigo yelled back through gritted teeth. He was starting to tire as well, but he couldn't afford to give quarter now, not with Inoue trying to heal the Shinigami and Ishida busy holding off the Legion warriors from the front.

"Kurosaki!" Ishida called, pulling his bow back for a particularly aggressive shot. "Go find your allies! We'll hold them off as long as we can until you do!"

Ichigo snapped at him, "If you think I'm just gonna leave you here—."

"We have no choice! If we all stay, we'll get overrun!" Ishida snapped right back.

Ichigo snarled in frustration and prepared to flash-step when a voice sounded in the distance.

"Not so fast, Ichigo!"

He looked up and saw Kale, who was holding a unique, curved blade with a notched, enlarged swordpoint. He stood at the head of a contingent of what looked like fifty men, all armed with weapons ranging from simple swords to the most complex projectile weaponry the 21st century had to offer.

"The cavalry has arrived!" one young man shouted, raising his weapon, a long rifle, into the air. The rest of them shouted with equal vehemence and set upon the Legion with the force of a bullet train. The fighters with ranged weapons stood atop the buildings and mowed down crowds of the Minors and Raiders, occasionally ceasing fire to engage in close-quarters combat with a stray Raider that had escaped the main group. The rest of the fighters, who had possessed melee weapons, cut a huge swathe into the Legion, moving as one like a drill.

The beleaguered Shinigami cheered for the soldiers of the Underground, and their strength was seemingly renewed by the reinforcements. They threw themselves at the demons without abandon, swords flashing as they bit into demon flesh.

Specters that had been circling the fray looking for stragglers to pick off were caught off guard by the sudden influx of new troops and seemed confused. They attempted to engage some of the ranged fighters, but were quickly cut down by Kale, who blurred through the air at blinding speed. His blade zipped through the air like a swallow, finding purchase in their porous, demonic armor with its large tip and creating cracks easily, like a child would easily crack a pane of thin ice with his foot.

From what Ichigo gathered, the Specters were a pretty fast type of Demon. But Kale was so much faster that the nimble Specters looked like bumbling fools, unable to react to his lightning fast attacks and dazedly trying to regroup.

Kale appeared next to Ichigo and bumped his shoulder with his left hand. "Sorry we're late," he quipped, jumping up and down like a boxer. "We had some things to take care of."

"What could possibly have been more important than fighting these things off? I thought that was your job," Ichigo asked incredulously.

Kale winked at him. "Have you figured out how you're gonna stop them from showing up?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply but realized what Kale was getting at.

Kale raised his sword and began flipping it in the air. "The penny drops. We sent a large number of our forces to the Wasteland to find and take out whatever translocator they're using. Silas went with them. Mathis too. We were left here to help you fend off these small fry."

He looked at Ichigo meaningfully. "You talk to your Soul Society buddies yet?"

"She did," Ichigo said, nodding towards Rukia. "But I don't know what their response was."

"Well, we'll chit-chat about that later," Kale said, bouncing a few more times before zipping towards the still-disoriented Specters. Ichigo too rushed forward to engage the Specters, and began his grisly work.

Kale and Ichigo's handling of the Specters allowed the bulk of the Shinigami-Underworld forces to fight with ease; Specter attacks from earlier had picked off Shinigami when they were locked in combat with other demons, so it had been especially hard for them to regroup and attack as a cohesive unit. Now, however, they were bogged down by no such thing, and were able to fight as a roiling ball of destruction, cutting through the lesser demons with relative ease.

Rukia noticed that the demons' numbers were slowly beginning to ebb, though they were still outnumbered at least 3 to 1. But it was a start; she now found that it was easier to maneuver and attack without bumping into a demon that had been trying to sneak up on her.

"Renji!" she shouted over the din. Without a word, Renji slashed through a knot of the demons to clear a path for Rukia. She dashed forward and turned her blade, point-first, towards the ground.

"Some no mai," she chanted, causing her white blade to glow with a brilliant light. "Tsukishiro!" she finished the mantra and slashed the air with her blade. A circle of white appeared around her, and as a large group of demons converged on her, blissfully unaware of what the shiny circle of light was about to do, a pillar of ice lanced toward the sky, encapsulating dozens of the grounded and airborne demons. She leapt away, out of the ice, and continued fighting, as though nothing had happened.

Her attack had put a severe dent in the demonic battalion, and Kale seemed to notice this. "All units with area-of-effect abilities prepare to finish this fight! The rest of you, retreat to the high ground!"

The Underground soldiers responded with a loud cheer and about a couple dozen of them fell back, leaving a handful of their original number congregated around the pillar of ice from Rukia's Tsukishiro. The Shinigami looked back and forth at each other until Renji bellowed, "What are you waiting for? You heard the bastard, MOVE!" At his command, the remaining Soul Society forces scattered, retreating to their wounded with swords still at the ready.

Kale killed the final Specter with a quick flourish of his blade, and then began to chant under his breath. As he did so, previously invisible runes began to glow on his sword, lighting his face up with a bright green. The demons remained ignorant of Kale's activities, trying to neutralize the seven remaining Underground troops, who, with the aid of the rangers, were able to hold them off.

Kale finished his incantation and vanished from Ichigo's sight. A line of green indicated his movements, and Ichigo saw that it was tracing the contours of the surrounding buildings and forming walls that shielded them from the warzone on the streets. When the formation was complete, large planes of green shot up into the sky for as far as Ichigo could see.

Kale reappeared at the top of the formation, and roared at the top of his lungs, "FORMATION SKYHAMMER!"

The seven fighters immediately leapt into the air, and laid down a barrage of spiritual energy. Bolts of yellow electricity and plumes of fire fell hard upon the enclosed space below, where the demons futilely attempted to shield themselves from the onslaught. But it was no use. Some were almost flash-vaporized in the face of the assault.

When the onslaught finished, the seven warriors raised their weapons toward Kale, whose weapon began to absorb a small part of their power, and his sword glowed a brilliant white. He leapt up from his mid-air perch and kicked off one of the enclosement's walls, rocketing towards the remaining battle-strong demons with the speed and force of a missile. At the last second, before he hit the concrete, he flipped and slammed the glowing blade into the ground, stopping his descent short with a deafening explosion. The concrete was unaffected, thankfully, but the energy released from the blade was enough to send the demons flying away from the point of impact and into the green walls, where they fizzled and disintegrated. Even Rukia's pillar of ice cracked and crumbled under the shockwave.

The quiet that followed the devastating SkyHammer was almost deafening. It had been Ichigo's first time fighting in such a large-scale battle for more than twenty minutes, and he was satisfied that it had ended with their victory. No more demons appeared, and all that was left to do was somehow fix up the minor damages that had been inflicted on surrounding buildings by the fray.

Kale rose from his crouching position and began to issue orders, breaking the deafening silence.

"Listen up! I want this place cleaner than my grandmother's kitchen and looking like it just underwent a full-scale remodeling. And keep on your toes! We still don't know the status of the squad that hit the Wasteland."

The Underworld soldiers responded with a hearty shout, while the Shinigami murmured to one another and tended to their wounded.

Kale swung his sword across one of the green barriers, and the energy fields dissipated immediately with a loud zap. He slung it over his shoulder lazily and strode over to Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji.

"You must be tired," he commented, addressing Ichigo and Rukia, both of whom were panting. Renji placed a hand on both their shoulders and added, "You two need some rest. You're no help to us if you can't even stand properly on your own."

"Don't be silly," Ichigo said. "We can't just sleep now while you guys are protecting the town. It's just like you said, isn't it? We don't know if the team in the Wasteland managed to seal off the translocator or not."

Kale shrugged. "That was more to keep the boys on their feet and keep them from getting too lax. Truth is, I got word from Silas that they were overwhelming the Legion forces on their end. We ain't gonna have to worry about any more of them coming through to this world now."

"I'm sure things went down on your end too," Kale said, glancing at Rukia, whose eyes were fixed on the ground, "but that can wait for now. First thing in the morning, you can let me know every little detail of what happened."

Renji stepped forward and asked, "What about the rest of us? You need us to do anything in the meantime?"

Kale raised an eyebrow. "You're willing to help us without knowing anything about us? That's kinda reckless, isn't it?"

"You guys just saved our asses and protected the town," Renji responded. "That's more than good enough for me or any other Shinigami."

"Fair enough," Kale said with an amused smile. "Just keep watch over the town perimeter with your able men; just because one entry point's been sealed doesn't mean they're just gonna stop coming. If any demons _do_ show up, give me a holler." He handed Renji a small phone-like device. "I'll drop in with our advance squad of about twenty and call for reinforcements if we need it. In the meantime, tend to your wounded ASAP."

Renji nodded and flash-stepped over to the remaining able-bodied Shinigami to give them their instructions. Kale turned back to Ichigo and Rukia quizzically and asked, "Why the hell're you two still here? Get to bed now, go!"

Ichigo and Rukia looked at one another and murmured their thanks. They both set off for Ichigo's house, silhouettes disappearing in the night sky. Kale watched them go, and switched on a coms unit attached to his belt. "SIC2 to SIC1, you read me?"

"_I read you loud and clear, Kale. Have you eliminated the threat to Karakura town?"_

"Yeah, we've taken care of things here. Is that translocator ours now?"

"_There was no need to capture it; it was merely a limited matter-transporter. It will no longer be a problem."_

Kale nodded his head. "Good to hear. Listen, I think I just met that girl Mathis ain't so fond of."

"_And?"_

"She's definitely hiding something. We're not going to like it."


	8. The Coming of a Storm

**A major update for those of you following this story: I will be changing the rating to M for Mature due to some of the scenes being rather gruesome, and possible sexuality later on. It probably won't be anything vomit-inducing or sexually explicit, but it's just to be safe. **

**The beginning of this chapter was my take on the thematic approach I mentioned last chapter. The character that I focused on quickly spun out of my control, resulting in the content that's made the story M. This chapter was strange in that it seemed to have a mind of its own. Nothing I wrote in this chapter was originally what I had planned. With that in mind, I feel like the ending may have been an awkward way to finish a chapter, but I hope what I wanted to convey is received by you readers. Hopefully this installment was to your liking. Please feel free to drop a review, positive or negative, as constructive criticism is GREATLY appreciated.**

**Mood Music: Nothing Can Be Explained Instrumental - Sagisu Shirou  
**

**Chapter 8: The Coming of a Storm**

_It's cold and wet._

_Must be rain._

_The precipitation falls in buckets, grasping Ichigo in cold, icy hands._

"_Get up."_

_A man cowers at another's feet. He is chubby but muscled._

_A long, rusted cleaver with some kind of engraved inscription lies several feet away._

_A kick. A growl._

"_I said…Get. Up."_

_The man remains huddled on the ground._

_A chain clanks. The man on the ground convulses. Clutches his neck._

"_Do you not understand the words coming out of my mouth?" the standing figure asks._

_The portly man whimpers. Almost cries._

"_Please…I had no choice."_

_A vicious snarl and a loud thud. The chubby man struggles to get to his feet._

_The rain turns a deep crimson._

"_I'm not going to ask you again."_

_The chain clanks once more. The standing man holds it in his grip tightly. Holds it menacingly._

_The man on the ground crawls backwards. Terror on his face made plain by lightning._

"_Tell me where he is."_

_Another thud. A cry of pain._

"_I—I don't know, I swear!"_

_The man with the chain sneers back._

"_You lie."_

_Metal strikes flesh. Bones give way with loud, audible snaps. Cries of pain and terror rip through the air._

_The moon comes out of hiding from behind the clouds. The red rain drops look like rubies in the pale, faint light._

_The face of the man with the chain is made clear._

_A familiar, young face. Can't quite place it._

"_You will tell me, or you will die a painful death."_

_The man on the ground yells. Foreign tongue. Alien language. What is he saying?_

"_He is no longer your ally. Do not defile us with your filthy tongue."_

_The man wails like a child. Tries to pull himself to safety with his uninjured left hand._

_A loud snap. A shriek of agony._

"_Where is he?"_

_The fat man yells._

"_You will burn for this!"_

_Chain clanks and jangles. It becomes stiff and rigid, like a spear._

_Lightning illuminates his young face again._

"_I know."_

_He stabs the cowering man through his chest._

_Lifts him up. Squirming and writhing._

_Gasps for breath._

_Fumbles to grab chain with his broken hands._

_Legs flop uselessly underneath him._

_Movements become sluggish and slow._

_His hands stop jerking._

_The gasps become further in between._

_The man slumps, held up by the chain-staff._

_A violent toss and his limp, lifeless body bounces on the pavement._

_Once._

_Twice._

_Then it stops._

_The rain continues to pour down like a flood of red crystals._

"_Hide all you want, coward. I will find you one way or another."_

_The moonlight fades as the clouds cover the silver orb again. Darkness swallows the man._

_A bolt of lightning. A flash of dark-grey metal._

_Gaping eyes._

_Icy blue dots._

_A hateful grimace._

_I've seen him before…_

_In another dream…_

_A man without mercy…_

And then Ichigo awoke, sweat dripping from his brow and his breath hitching in his chest as though he had just run a marathon. The moon taunted him, tickling his memory of a dream that was already slipping from his grasp.

The man's face slipped his memory, but he vividly remembered the flash of grey metal, and that it had formed a mask of some sort. Its details teased him, before permanently slipping out of his understanding.

He checked the clock. 4:23 am. He cradled his head, trying to make the cold sweat subside, and jerked in surprise when Rukia silently touched his arm, expression that of concern.

"What is it…?" she whispered. "You were groaning and gasping in your sleep."

Ichigo shook his head and grasped it with both heads, trying to remember and calm down at the same time. A strange feeling possessed Ichigo, the only remnants of the elusive dream that he was able to recognize.

"Ichigo," Rukia asked a little more forcefully. "What's wrong?"

"It's not a problem, Rukia. Just a few nightmares." Ichigo continued to rub his temples and fell back down on his pillow with a short grunt.

Rukia persisted. "Ichigo, I've slept in your room for the past few months and I've never heard you make any sounds like what I heard today. You sounded like you were in pain." She crossed her arms and stared at Ichigo intently. He could see bags under her eyes and knew she was tired. But the concern in her eyes outshone her fatigue, and Ichigo knew that she would keep this up until sunrise if she had to.

He let out a sigh and said, "I've had visions in my sleep lately."

Rukia said nothing, but Ichigo knew she was listening closely.

"I can't remember everything, but bits and pieces keep floating up and I can't make sense of them. There was a scorpion in one, and in another one red rain was falling," Ichigo muttered, closing his eyes and trying to force the images in his subconscious to rise up. "I felt…something in each vision. Some sense of…impending doom."

Rukia had crawled onto the bed by Ichigo's legs now, and had curled her legs up so she was hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes were locked with Ichigo's, and twinkled in the bright moonlight with both concern and curiosity.

Despite the fact that he was sharing with her the gravity of his visions, Ichigo couldn't help but stare back into Rukia's eyes, lost in their beautiful shade of violet. Momentarily lost in her gaze, Ichigo said nothing, before Rukia cleared her throat softly, bringing Ichigo back to reality with a start.

"Sorry. I lost track of thought for a second." he murmured, scratching the back of his head, failing to notice the barely visible blush that had colored Rukia's cheeks.

"In each one, I feel like someone's lurking in the dark, just out of reach," he said, closing his eyes again to try to pull back something from the elusive dreams. "Not hiding, but waiting. Waiting for some kind of opportunity. But what it is, I wouldn't know. I can't even remember whose faces I see and what I'm seeing."

Rukia frowned slightly. "Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because I simply assumed they were nightmares."

"Don't assume anything, Ichigo," Rukia admonished him, frown deepening and forming creases in her brow. "You're not a normal human. Things that you experience that are out of the ordinary are likely to be important. Even if they involve dreams that you forget within minutes," she added hastily, noting Ichigo's attempt to protest 'But they're dreams!'

"I don't want to worry you," Ichigo said irritably, rolling over and away from the petite girl.

She crawled to the other side of the bed so she could continue talking to Ichigo face-to-face and replied, "You aren't doing a very good job of it then. When I see your sweat drench your sheets and hear you groan in your sleep the way you did tonight I can't help but worry. Wouldn't you worry if I suddenly broke out into a fever and coughed up blood one day?"

Ichigo shot back, "Yeah of co—."

"It's the same thing for me, Ichigo. Believe it or not, we Shinigami look out for each other. And I want to look out for you, but I can't if you push me away."

"Touching."

Rukia heaved a sigh and turned her head towards the window, through which the moonlight streamed in, lighting up her pale, fair skin with a bright, white glow.

"If you don't want to worry me…just don't keep me guessing, ok? You don't have to tell me everything. But just don't leave me completely in the dark," she said softly.

Ichigo was taken aback by her uncharacteristic compassion, and his lips twitched upward a bit for a fraction of a second before reverting to the customary frown. He placed a hand on hers as a response and squeezed it once before withdrawing it and saying, "Get some sleep. You look like my grandmother."

Rukia whacked his leg with her tiny fist with a _hmph!_ and retreated to her cupboard, a small blush creeping up her neck that Ichigo once again did not detect.

* * *

Rukia tried to catch her breath in the abnormally spacious closet. For some reason her lungs had hitched within the past few seconds, and she found that her heart was beating like a rabbit's. A maddening flush of heat had spread throughout her body, and concentrated on her cheeks, which were now positively glowing in the dark.

She lay down, trying to do away with her sudden ailments with sleep.

* * *

Morning whizzed by for Ichigo. Yuzu and Karin were both still sleeping, and his father had left early for some consult with another doctor. After finishing his morning rituals and scarfing down a quick and light breakfast, Ichigo found himself walking outside in the snow that had piled up after he'd had fallen back asleep the night before. He was never particularly fond of the cold, but he found snow to be relaxing. How everything was covered in a blanket of white, how sound was muffled by the precipitation, and how there wasn't a single person out on the street.

It made for good alone time. On days like this Ichigo liked to walk by all the normal venues he visited during the week. It was strange but also slightly comforting to see them a little emptier and quieter than usual, like he was walking through a ghost town experiencing rebirth. It was an unusual observation, but Ichigo didn't fear anyone's judgment anyway.

He stopped at a park and reminisced a little. Here had been the place where Ichigo had sworn to Rukia that he would take up her mantle as Shinigami as long as he had to.

Had that been a mistake? Had he caused trouble by promising to be a Shinigami? By promising what he had, he'd bound himself to Rukia, and had caused her a great amount of trouble in Soul Society. Not to mention that after he'd lost his powers he had forced himself to regain them, resulting in the development of his inner Hollow.

Hollow.

Here he was for the umpteenth time; ever since he'd gotten back from Soul Society, even during the battle to protect Karakura Town last night, he couldn't stop thinking about what to do with his crazed alter-ego. He knew that if he ever lost control, those he cared about would come to great harm. He didn't even know what he was _supposed _to do, short of offing himself to suppress it.

He heaved a great sigh and brushed away some snow from one of the swings, easing into it and lightly rocking back and forth. He didn't want to tell anyone, either. Not because he was afraid they would judge him, but because they would worry too much about it and he didn't want that. Not ever. He wouldn't ever be pitied or the subject of another person's burden again. He remembered what it was like after his mother had passed away. People would whisper as he passed, offer him things they normally wouldn't, and treat him like he was some special kid.

He had hated every second of it.

He was not a baby, and did not want to be known as such. He wanted people to look at him and see a respectable, self-sufficient man, not as the kid who lost his mom when he was just a boy, nor as the young man struggling to retain control himself.

He spent the rest of his life making sure people knew he wasn't to be trifled with. He didn't mean to instill fear in anyone, or to establish his image as some kind of delinquent, but it eventually ended up that way, and he gained the reputation of beating up gangsters who came to pick a fight with him because of the color of his hair. People looked at him and were intimidated. Though it wasn't he'd had in mind, he'd kept it and ran with it. It gave him what he wanted at least: self-confidence.

But now here he was, again, feeling pathetic and helpless against a force that he knew next to nothing about. How could you conquer yourself if you weren't as vicious and relentless as your counterpart, who was as strong as you, if not even stronger?

"Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo looked up to see Inoue Orihime standing in front of him, a mixture of surprise and concern clear on her face. _It's _that_ face again. Why does everyone give me that goddamn face…?_ he thought to himself.

But aloud he simply replied, "Yo."

The girl plopped down in the swing next to Ichigo's and asked, "Why are you out here all by yourself in the cold? I thought you hated the cold."

"I do," he replied. He traced lines in the snow beneath his feet and replied, "But I like the snow. It's always peaceful when it's snowing."

Orihime nodded brightly and agreed with a chirp, "I know! It's so very pretty too. Something about it is just so beautiful, even though it's just white and made of water."

Ichigo didn't say anything, which seemed to be the cue for Orihime's inevitable question:

"Is…something wrong, Kurosaki-kun?"

His insides almost flash-boiled at the inquiry, but he showed no external signs of it. He muttered through almost-clenched teeth, "Nothing's wrong, Inoue. I just wanted some fresh air."

He knew she wasn't convinced by his half-assed lie, but he still fervently wished she would just drop it. Nevertheless, she pressed on, saying timidly, "Kurosaki-kun…You aren't alone, you know. We're all here with you—."

Ichigo finally snapped and he violently rose to his feet. "I AM alone, Inoue. Ok? I get it; you want to be there for me. I'm asking you to leave me to my own problems. My problems are MY burden. I don't need your pity or your sympathy. I just want you to leave me to take care of things alone, alright?"

Orihime had flinched at his outburst, and was slightly leaning away from him as his tirade came to an end.

Ichigo panted a little, surprised at himself for the loss of temper but not regretful. People needed to understand this. It was about time he'd said something. He began walking away when the girl spoke again.

"Have you considered that your solitude is hurting other people?"

He slowed his footsteps and stopped.

"Kurosaki-kun," she said tentatively, as if she was afraid he'd turn around and slap her if she spoke too quickly, "that's what I mean by you aren't alone. I know you want to be your own solution, and I'm ok with that. But it hurts me to know that you won't rely on your friends."

Ichigo said nothing.

"Right now, your words hurt me deeply," she continued, walking up to his side and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Not because you were yelling, but because you were shutting me out. You just told me that you didn't trust me."

She stepped in front of him and looked him straight in the eye. Ichigo saw a glint of determination in her eyes that he'd never seen before.

"No matter how hard you try, you won't be alone Kurosaki-kun. The more you try to keep us away, the harder we'll try to get closer to you. That's what friends are supposed to do," she said firmly, almost aggressively.

She stood there for a few more seconds before squeaking and running off, repeating over and over, "I just yelled at Kurosaki-kun!"

He heard her trip and yelp somewhere in the distance, and laughed a little. Typical Orihime. What she'd said was enlightening, to say the least.

He immediately thought of Rukia, and how she'd said something similar to him the night before.

"_I want to look out for you, but I can't if you push me away…If you don't want to worry me…just don't keep me guessing, ok? You don't have to tell me everything. But just don't leave me completely in the dark."_

He exhaled, observing the crystallized particles of his breath disperse in the cold, winter air with mild interest, then turned to walk back home. His mind was still racing in circles regarding his Hollow problem, but his shoulders felt a little more relaxed, and his chaotic thoughts a little more organized. He snorted at the observation.

"Idiots."

* * *

Rukia sneezed loudly and shook her head to clear the dizzying sensation that followed.

Ichigo was not in the house when she had woken up a half hour ago, leading her to assume that he'd managed to wake up before her for once. But she _had_ seen him leave without telling her beforehand many times in the past, and had learned that he did so to clear his head. So she chose to stay behind in his room instead of going to look for him. After all, she had some things on her mind that she needed to straighten out as well.

First and foremost was the issue of her spying on the Underworld. She'd had time to think about the matter while searching for Ichigo, and after the raucous battle from the night before. She realized that not only was she ill-trained and inexperienced for any sort of espionage, she had no idea how she would go about gleaning information about the Abomination from the Underworld. She had no connections to them besides Ichigo, and didn't even know where or who to start with.

She stirred a cup of cocoa and plopped down on Ichigo's bed. Then there was her other problem.

Rukia didn't understand what exactly was going on in her mind lately. Observations regarding Ichigo she wouldn't normally make were popping up left and right. Her body would flush abruptly whenever he glanced at her, and she had a hard time keeping herself from mentally arguing about his age. The last bit was incredibly confounding. _Why? Why the age? I just don't get it._ Rukia wrestled with herself for a moment and dropped it. If she kept thinking about it, she would start considering the fact that maybe she—.

"Yo."

Rukia jumped half a foot in the air and snapped her eyes up to see Ichigo walk in, warm and dry everywhere but his hair, which Rukia found comical. She stifled a laugh and commented, "You might want to brush the dandruff out of your hair, Ichigo."

Ichigo felt his head with a hand and sighed. He turned to go to the bathroom, and as he turned away, Rukia saw a glint of conflict in his eyes, like he was arguing with himself.

Rukia opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. She'd made her position as his friend very clear. If he wanted to continue fighting his demons alone, she had to let him. After all, she had her own secrets as well, and she wouldn't have appreciated it if Ichigo had hounded her about them.

And once again, she found herself lost in the never-ending self-debate she'd engaged in regarding her mission from Soul Society. To tell him or not to tell him.

Rukia's thoughts continued to bounce back and forth until Ichigo's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

"I do have a problem."

Rukia looked up at the orange-haired boy as he strode back in, towel draped over his shoulders. He closed the door lightly behind him and sat at his desk, placing his hands in his pockets and leaning back on his chair. She could tell by the expression on his face that he was having a hard time divulging what was on his mind so she stayed respectfully silent and nodded for him to continue.

"Ever since my fight with Kenpachi in Soul Society, I've heard someone else's voice in my mind. Someone that kept nagging at me until finally, right when Byakuya was about to kill me, it took over," Ichigo murmured. His hands clenched in his pockets, and Rukia could see the outlines of his knuckles through the fabric. "I still can't remember anything that happened. Only that I was fighting to regain control of my body."

"When I blacked out, Byakuya's Zanpakuto was about to hit me. I was paralyzed and couldn't defend myself. The first thing I saw when I took control again was Byakuya, covered in blood, looking at me as if he'd seen a ghost. He mentioned my 'other form', and I assumed it was the voice inside that had taken over."

Ichigo was silent for an agonizingly long minute, then Rukia whispered urgently, "Are you afraid it's coming back?"

"Worse," Ichigo said without a moment's hesitation. "I _know_ it's coming back. It's just a matter of _when_."

"And when it does, everyone around me will be in danger," Ichigo said, locking eyes with Rukia. "It's some kind of inner Hollow. I know this because I had to tear off a mask that was forming on my face to regain control when I fought with your brother. And if it comes back I don't know if I'll be able to stop it in time."

Unlike the night before, his eyes were harder and less uncertain, filled with some kind of determination. She could tell he was worried, but that he was trying his best to be strong.

Rukia replied, "I'm glad you decided to tell me, Ichigo. Don't worry; we'll take it on together when the time comes. But for now, let's not worry too much about it. We've got other issues to deal with."

She took a deep breath and continued, "Soul Society…wants me to spy on the Underworld."

Ichigo was silent for a few seconds, and then asked incredulously, "Why?"

Rukia explained the weakened nature of Soul Society and how whatever information regarding the Abomination they needed had to be taken for the time being. How Soul Society therefore was unable to join in any cause other than their own until they were back at full strength.

When she finished, Ichigo looked irritable. "Soul Society makes some stupid decisions sometimes…"

"I don't blame them! They _are_ at their weakest right now—," Rukia started.

"Which is exactly why they should be making allies, not enemies," Ichigo said, shaking his head. "How is it that I, as young as I am now compared to your superiors, have a better idea of military tactics than they do?"

Rukia crossed her arms and snorted. "That's pretty arrogant of you."

Ichigo sighed. "I know. I'm probably not as smart as I'm making myself out to be. But they're potentially making another enemy. That makes them vulnerable to attack from three fronts. I can tell you that Soul Society made a bad decision this time around."

Rukia remained silent.

"But thanks for telling me. And for listening," Ichigo muttered under his breath. "I guess we'll have to tough things out together, huh?"

Rukia smiled at him warmly. "Of course."

Ichigo seemed surprised at the rare expression and nodded once, before turning to see who had just knocked on the door. A yawning Yuzu stumbled in, still in her pajamas.

"Oni-chan…Good morning," she mumbled, stretching like a cat and blinking at the sight of Rukia sitting on Ichigo's bed. "When did Rukia-san come here?"

"She came over while you were still asleep. It's already 1; you slept in unusually late today," Ichigo said, checking his watch. Rukia waved at her brightly, to which Yuzu responded with a lethargic wave. "Karin-chan is still asleep, and I'm tired so I think I'm going to go sleep some more…Good night."

Another yawn forming on her lips, Yuzu closed the door behind her, leaving Rukia and Ichigo in surprise. Yuzu was never this tired, even on weekends. Ichigo snorted and Rukia giggled. The two made eye contact with each other, mutually startled by each other's uncommon expression of mirth, before averting their eyes. Rukia shifted her feet under her and Ichigo scratched his head furiously.


	9. Two Jerichos, One Mission

**It's been a while since my last update, but hey, college calls. In return, I've prepared a somewhat longer chapter for you, and I've introduced someone new. I appreciate your support thus far, and I would like to keep my updates monthly _at the least_. Realistically you will see an update every month or so, maybe even sooner depending on my workload and whatever inspirations might strike me.**

**On another note, I've developed character bios for Mathis, Silas, and Kale, and will be creating bios for all original characters as well as my interpretations of the Bleach Universe characters. If you'd like to check them out, feel free to visit my profile, where I've listed them.  
**

**I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and, as always, all constructive criticism is welcome. You guys have been very generous in your reviews thus far, and I very much appreciate your feedback. I will do my best to live up to your expectations!  
**

**Mood Music: Romance for Journey - Daishi Dance (Beginning and End)  
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** Fade to Black A06 - Sagisu Shirou (Middle)**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Ichigo blew on his own cup of hot chocolate and grasped it tightly in his glove-encased hands for warmth. Rukia was now drinking her fifth cup, due to there being no such drink in Soul Society.

"I'll never have enough of it," she replied when Ichigo asked her if she was planning on stopping after her third cup.

The two were taking a stroll through the half-deserted Karakura, talking about matters that ranged from serious to downright ridiculous. At one point they were discussing the fate of humanity and Soul Society, and a minute two later Ichigo found himself arguing over bunnies being adorable with Rukia (again).

Times like this made both of them wish for peace. They'd both made it clear that pleasant conversations with close friends were always the best. It was hard to ever top something like that. Neither had many friends to do it with, but that made it all the more special. With the rise of the so-called 'Legions,' Rukia had pointed out that they would probably have little to no time to do anything aside from fight, let alone have long, redundant talks about the cuteness of anything that remotely resembled Chappy.

This back-and-forth conversation continued and would have gone for several minutes had not a girl that very strongly resembled Yuzu ran past the pair. Ichigo immediately turned his head and yelled, "Don't run so fast, you'll trip!"

The girl skidded to a halt in the snow and turned to shout back, "Sorry! I'm just in a bit of a hurry, you see!" Ichigo then noticed that she was not Yuzu at all, but someone else. He'd assumed that her hair had been wet because of the snow, but in reality it had just been brown. Her blue eyes were as bright as Yuzu's, if not brighter, and she had a cheeky grin on her face. Ichigo blushed at his mistake and replied, "My bad, I thought you were my little sister for a second. I didn't mean to yell at a complete stranger."

She laughed and said, "No, it's fine! It was good advice!"

She turned away to continue walking to wherever she was going but stopped herself. After a moment's thought, she turned back to Ichigo and Rukia and asked, "I don't mean to intrude on your date, but could you—."

Rukia spluttered at the word 'date' and hastily coughed to clear her throat. Ichigo gaped at the brunette, but quickly recovered and said, "We're not dating. We're just friends."

"Y-yeah," Rukia hacked, "just friends."

The girl raised her hands to her mouth and squeaked, "Sorry! I didn't mean to assume or make things awkward or anything!"

"Get to the point," Rukia snapped, half-embarrassed at the use of the word 'date' and half-upset that she'd wasted hot chocolate.

"I was just wondering if either of you knew a Mathis Jericho?"

This time, both Ichigo and Rukia let their jaws hit the ground. _This girl? This klutzy, bubbly girl knows Mathis?_ they both thought to themselves.

But out loud Ichigo replied, "Yeah…What's it to you?"

"I'm his little sister!"

* * *

"Passw—oh, it's you. Come, we have much to discuss," Silas said from behind the steel door.

The door swung open and Ichigo began muttering under his breath. "No way in hell…"

Silas raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"

Then the brunette, whom Ichigo and Rukia had found out a few minutes prior was named Sarah Jericho, popped out from behind Ichigo and waved at Silas brightly. "Hi!"

Silas's expression changed immediately to that of recognition, and he graced her with a smile.

"Sarah!" he said warmly, extending his arms to either side of himself, which prompted Sarah to almost leap into his arms, knocking him back a bit. His expression changed to one of minor surprise, before he broke the embrace and met the dumbstruck gazes of both Ichigo and Rukia.

"What?"

Sarah looked innocently at the two of them and then back at Silas.

"She's…really…Mathis's sister…?" Ichigo mumbled.

The girl cocked her head to a side in confusion. Rukia wanted to scream a little. There was no way that this adorable little girl was directly related to Mathis Jericho.

"I do understand your confusion," Silas said. "It seems unlikely that such a sweet child would be related to…erm…Mr. Jericho."

Sarah almost purred like a cat at Silas's compliment. Ichigo was completely flabbergasted. This flirty young girl was actually Mathis's sister? And then a sidethought: _I wonder if Yuzu's gonna be like her in a few years. I wouldn't be surprised._

"Is Matty here?" Sarah asked. Ichigo blanched at the pet name.

"He's in a Wasteland base right now with Kale. Let me show you the way," Silas said, motioning for Sarah to follow him. To Ichigo and Rukia he said, "You come along with us too. There is much we have for us to discuss with you."

Ichigo and Rukia knew they should've been able to get over this small fact, but it was just too unbelievable. Sarah and Mathis were perhaps the most dissimilar siblings either of them had ever met. As they followed Silas, Ichigo couldn't help but whisper, "One of them must have been adopted."

As they strode through the underground dome, Rukia marveled at the variety of facilities that were hidden here underground. It was a veritable fortress with an unexpected cover. A perfect base of operations for a covert force such as the Underworld.

More importantly, Rukia noted the wariness in Silas's eyes when he'd made eye contact with her earlier. Though it might have just been his natural gaze playing tricks on her, Rukia was sure that it was connected to the fact that he was deliberately keeping her out of the loop. Silas had not said anything directed towards her; as of yet, the only words he'd spoken to the pair of them had been directed towards Ichigo.

_Do they know?_ Rukia wondered. _No, there's no way…But I should tread carefully nonetheless._

They reached the translocation room, which Ichigo had already become acquainted with. Rukia, on the other hand, was alarmed when Silas began speaking to a computer screen that had extended from the ceiling. She heard something about 'translocation' and 'temporary approval', and chanced a guess that Silas was making some kind of exception in the system for her to travel with the others to…wherever the hell this Wasteland was.

Ichigo put his hand on Rukia's shoulder, which elicited a small, inaudible squeak from Rukia, and he said, "It'll be jarring the first time, so brace yourself."

* * *

Rukia didn't even have time to process the sensations brought about by the translocation before the sudden, savage barrage of sand scoured her from head to toe. She was vaguely aware of Ichigo moving off to the side, and managed to keep track of him and tag along inside.

Once she'd brushed the sand from her clothes, she looked up to examine the building they were in now. Ichigo had apparently not been in this building before, as he looked equally as curious as she felt.

The interior was gigantic; easily dwarfing the underground dome they'd just left behind, and even that had been a fairly large construction. Most of this building, however, seemed to revolve around open space, as opposed to the dome, which had been very packed and space-efficient. Rukia saw that dojo floorboards covered the entirety of the floors, and noticed with some confusion that the ceiling and walls were covered in mats of some sort as well. By the walls were benches and tables, not unlike those she'd seen in 'gymnasiums' of the Living World.

Before she could continue her observations, however, Silas motioned for them to step aside. Not a moment too soon, Rukia sidestepped, unknowingly dodging Kale, who'd been hurtling towards them at high velocity, clad in some kind of dojo uniform. He landed with a loud smack on the springy floor.

"Ow."

Silas snorted and offered a hand. "Still as harsh as ever, I see."

"No kidding," Kale responded with a whistle, pulling himself up with the proffered hand. He then noticed Sarah and grinned brightly. "What's up, princess?"

Sarah smiled back chipperly and said, "My brother!"

Kale looked confused a moment before her words registered. "Oh shi—."

He leapt up and away from them, narrowly dodging Mathis, who had also come hurtling out of nowhere, also wearing a dojo uniform. His bandaged fist smashed into the floor, and he quickly looked up. He wordlessly looked at Silas, Ichigo, Rukia (at whom his mouth curled slightly), and then did a double take when Sarah jumped into his view. Ichigo and Rukia saw briefly a sliver of surprise in his eye before it returned to its normal, harsh glint. He leapt up and off the wall to continue chasing Kale, choosing not to say anything to Sarah.

"That's no way to greet your little sister…" Ichigo said, almost hopefully.

Sarah smiled and shook her head. "That's alright! He's been like that for a while. Besides, I know he's happy to see me."

Silas locked eyes with a flabbergasted Ichigo and gave a sympathetic shrug. "I know. When 'happy' and 'Mathis' are used in the same sentence I tend to lose my sense of reality as well. But you do get used to it after a while."

Rukia asked, "Where exactly are we?"

Silas looked her over, before replying, "We are currently in Stronghold, one of our major bases in the Wasteland and our central sparring facility."

"Wasteland?"

"Correct." Silas said curtly. He motioned to the door they'd just entered the building through. "Our landing point was in the Wasteland. As you can imagine, it is as harsh an environment as its name suggests."

Ichigo scratched his head and asked, "Is there any reason the pad's located outside?"

"Every time we've tried to build anything that encased the Wasteland-side of a translocator, the building exploded whenever matter was relocated. So the practice of leaving the landing points in the open became standard building procedure."

Ichigo nodded, kind of following what Silas was saying. The strategist turned his gaze on Rukia again, and he asked, "Would it be safe to assume that you are Rukia?"

Rukia swallowed and replied, "Yes. My name is Kuchiki Rukia."

Silas patted Sarah on the shoulder to catch her attention and said, "Go watch your brother spar with Kale. I am sure you will learn a thing or two from their match."

Sarah responded with a cheerful affirmative and ran to the side, where a door led to a viewing balcony several stories up. When Silas saw the door close behind the little girl, he turned and addressed Rukia directly.

"We have not yet been acquainted. I am Silas, Second In Command #1. I've heard a little about you from Mathis and Kale."

Rukia sighed inwardly. _If he heard about me from Mathis, chances are this guy's gonna hate me too._

"Kale is not always the greatest judge of character, but his instinct has very rarely been incorrect. Last night, he surmised that something happened in your Soul Society that you may not be willing to share. Perhaps when you shared the information we gave you with your superiors, you were issued orders that may not strictly be to our benefit. So I advise you to avoid lying to us if you are unwilling or unable to give us the truth."

Ichigo and Rukia shared worried glances. Silas held up a hand and said, "You need not worry. We are not planning on making you are enemies for whatever you are hiding."

"That, however, cannot be said for your superiors." The young man fixed one of his cuffs and continued, "we may deem Soul Society an enemy and/or a threat to our cause, should whatever you are hiding be harmful to our organization."

"So...The two of us will be your allies…but Soul Society will be your enemy?" Rukia asked slowly.

Silas nodded. "If we find out that whatever you've been tasked with is unacceptable, we may be forced to take up that perspective. Though I assure you, we are not looking to fight a war on two fronts. I would think Soul Society would not want to do so either." His eyes narrowed accusatively, and Rukia blinked innocently in response. But in her mind, she grew even more anxious. _He knows._

"For now, we will simply have to take what we can. But if our alliance is to last, you will share with us what Soul Society ordered you to do at some point, whether you like it or not. Just…not now. Much more important matters require our immediate attention."

"Which is why they're sparring…right?" Ichigo said, gesturing at Kale and Mathis.

Silas was either ignoring the sarcasm or was simply immune to it, as he replied normally, "Correct. Once Kale has finished his session, I will be following. It is our…preparation for what we believe is to be a great battle ahead."

Ichigo watched as the two fought, hand to hand. From what he'd gathered during their battle to protect Karakura the night before, Kale was a very fast, capable fighter. He reminded Ichigo a little of Yoruichi. He probably wasn't as fast, but was very similar in their style of fighting. His strikes were rapid and whip-like, with the occasional powerful hammer strike. He utilized both legs and feet in his attacks, demonstrating remarkable agility and acrobatic skill.

Mathis, on the other hand, moved somewhat slow in comparison with Kale. Ichigo had been overwhelmed by his speed before, but now he found that next to Kale, his motions were easier to read and track.

But it was clear that Mathis was beating Kale in their spar. For some reason, though he wasn't able to quite keep up with Kale's lightning-fast reflexes and attacks, his movements were abstract enough to evade all the blows in precise, fluid motions. More than once Ichigo saw Mathis spin _through_ a strike to deflect it, then use Kale's momentum to drive his fist into his stomach.

Kale's face often contorted with pain, but he said nothing as the fight continued. It was evident that despite Kale's light build and speed-oriented fighting style, he was a sturdy fighter.

After several more minutes of watching them spar, a shrill whistle sounded. Both Kale and Mathis stopped mid-fight and stepped back from one another. They both took short bows, and once Kale stood straight, he strode off to the side, hands on his hips. Mathis remained where he stood, eyes closed and arms crossed.

"It is now my turn. Please wait on the sidelines with them. Kale will brief you on our situation."

With that, Silas turned and made for what appeared to be a locker room. Rukia motioned for Ichigo to follow her to where Kale was, and the two of them made their way over to the benches, where Kale was sitting. He was sweating profusely and fanned himself to try to cool off, clutching a bottle of water like it were a lifeline.

"You guys look a little better than last night," he said, pulling off a tired smirk. To Rukia, he extended his hand and said, "I'm Kale. Second In Command #2. You just met the stick-in-the-mud, Silas."

Rukia was a bit taken aback by how chipper he always seemed to be. Even the night before, following the battle, he had been pleasantly demeanored and calm. There was a stark contrast between him and Silas, one that Rukia found somewhat comical.

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Kuchiki Rukia," she said, inclining her head as introduction.

Kale cocked his head to a side and said, "You know, aside from the fact that you seem like you're hiding something, you don't seem all that bad. You're even kind of cute."

Rukia was taken aback by the compliment and shuffled her feet. "Thank you…" Ichigo snorted.

Kale laughed at her discomfort and said, "Don't be such a stranger. I'm not entirely sure why Mathis doesn't like you, but you're a friend in my book."

"I've done nothing to incite his anger," Rukia said in confusion. "Why does he dislike me?"

Kale shrugged. "Beats me."

Silas stepped back out of the locker room wearing the same uniform as Kale and Mathis. As he approached Mathis, Kale began to speak.

"We've got a bit of a problem." He scratched his head as Silas and Mathis bowed and almost instantaneously began to trade blows. Ichigo absent-mindedly noted Silas's slower, more deliberate motions and heavier strikes. Mathis responded in kind, apparently slowing down to allow for more power in each strike and to adapt to Silas's harder hits.

"That last attack group was just an advance squad. We discerned this from the relatively weak defense of the translocator they were using and the strength of the demons present. You saw yesterday how there were only Minors, Raiders, and Specters, right?"

Ichigo thought back and realized what Kale was saying was right. The Specters had been the major threat in the entire horde of demons. He hadn't seen anything that seemed even remotely stronger than they were. "What does it matter?"

"It matters because we know they're going to send a bigger force. A _much_ bigger force," Kale said, emphasizing each word with unusual gravity. "Normally this isn't a problem, but for some reason the Legions are focusing on Karakura Town. What are the odds, huh? Of all the places on this planet Earth, the demons of Hell chose your small, humble town. Kinda flattering, kinda insulting."

"Jokes aside, Karakura faces a huge threat if we let them go without doing anything. They're mobilizing as we speak. The possibility that we'll meet one of their generals in this assault battalion is high, so if we don't take the initiative and strike first, we're gonna be dealing with well over hundreds of thousands of demons, not to mention some of the biggest, baddest demons that were ever spawned. And we are nowhere near ready to deal with that kind of army."

Rukia frowned. "So why not do what you did last night?"

"Send in a separate group to take them out?"

"Better yet, why not just send everyone in?" Ichigo added.

Kale _tsk_'d and replied, "And that's where we've got our problem."

"The location they're mobilizing? According to our scans it's only about a day's march from our nearest outpost. But between that outpost and their mobilization point is a huge chasm that our forces can't cross. We had the Prophet run scans on the area to the sides of where we initially found the canyon, and we found that it goes on for hundreds of miles upon miles. It'd take well over a couple of weeks to get around the thing, let alone get to the enemy camp, and that's if we were travelling without our equipment."

"Now the translocator that our nightclub is based around only has access to a certain region of the Wasteland. That region is synonymous to the land region of Japan. If we were to try to get to an outpost on the other side of the canyon, we'd have to travel to Europe. Specifically Russia."

Ichigo and Rukia both spluttered. Kale held up a hand to stifle their protestations. "Gimme a second to finish here. There's worse."

"Russia has a single translocation outpost that we can use to get to their camp directly before they manage to get all their boys together. However, we've lost contact with that outpost and a handful of other outposts scattered around Europe. Go figure. They all went dark starting from about three days back, and we're assuming that some elite demon squad is going around trying to shut off our access to the Wasteland."

"We need to go stop this gang and retake those outposts. If we don't, we might as well give Karakura up to the bastards on a silver platter." Kale sighed at the observation and added, "I hate being the bearer of bad news."

"Why can't you just bring the Underworld with you?" Ichigo asked. "Or if you're that big of an organization, why not have people in Europe take care of it?"

Kale shook his head. "I wish it were that easy. The people that are stationed in Europe have it worse than we do. They deal with attacks _daily_, and that's when they're having a good month. We're a very special division; we move around the world setting up bases and undertaking extraordinary tasks. Think of us as the SpecOps division. Our army stays put to hold ground, and we go around doing the things they can't in their place. If it weren't for us, the Underworld would have been pushed back a while ago, and if it weren't for them, we would be on the run, not taking the fight to the Legions."

Rukia nodded. "It's the same reason Soul Society only posts a few Shinigami in the World of the Living to deal with Hollows. We can't afford to budget too much of our military strength to the management of stray Hollows."

"So where do we come in?" Ichigo asked Kale.

Kale chuckled, but there was little mirth in the expression. "We're gonna leave most of our forces behind here as well, for the same reason. Karakura will be under constant pressure, and though I'm sure your allies are strong, Miss Kuchiki, I can guarantee that, if they are left alone, they will be overwhelmed by the Legions."

"So we're going to be splitting off a number of our few hundred to go with us to Europe. A special operations group within a special operations group," he snorted. "I'd estimate about 70 of us being on the move."

"That sounds like more reason for us to be staying behind to defend the town," Ichigo said. "I'm not leaving my family here while they're at risk."

"You two are very powerful fighters," Kale explained. "There's no denying that fact. You may do a spectacular job at defending your home, but if this advance team to Europe falls, you'll have wasted your time and energy in defense, as you'll be overrun by the incoming army. By entrusting protection of Karakura to our little joint force of…Soul Society, was it?" Rukia nodded her head and he continued, "—Soul Society and the remainder of our Underworld, which will still be a large, substantial force, they'll be able to sufficiently defend Karakura from attack while you help us prevent the Legions from massing a large enough force that will definitely overwhelm any number of forces we leave in Karakura."

"The best defense is a good offense." Rukia murmured.

"Damn right," Kale said with a small smirk. "Not bad, little girl. You know a lot about military tactics."

"I'm not a little girl," Rukia said pointedly. "I'm many times your age, boy."

Kale laughed once and replied dryly, "Sure you are."

Rukia let out an irritable 'hmph!' and turned her head to continue observing Silas and Mathis's sparring session. It was apparent that Mathis had the upper hand, as Silas was panting and attempting to parry Mathis's offensive strikes. He would manage to barely swat away an offending limb before getting hit by another that slipped neatly through his guard. It looked like Mathis was saying something as he threw his punches, and Silas would quickly nod in between blocks and respond.

Ichigo couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked obvious enough; Mathis was giving Silas instructions on how to improve his martial skill. Ichigo had seen it in the time he'd spent in martial arts. Instructors tended to teach while sparring at higher levels, allowing students to correct small ticks in their fighting styles or make improvements as the spar progressed.

Soon Silas and Mathis bowed to each other and Silas shuffled off the arena, gait stiff with a slight gimp.

He settled down next to Kale, huffing as he caught his breath. He looked up at Rukia and said, "Miss Kuchiki. _*Pant*_ Mathis wishes to spar with you."

Ichigo and Rukia both raised their eyebrows. "Me?" she asked to clarify, pointing at herself.

"Correct," he coughed, downing a swig of water. "He has fought everyone man-to-man here except for you, and he wishes to remedy that."

Ichigo frowned and replied, "Are you sure it's not because he doesn't like her and wants to express it?"

Silas shook his head. "He may not like you, Miss Kuchiki, but he is not the type to make a point of something through violence." He took another long draft from his bottle and let out a sigh of content. "He simply wishes to…get to know you. Perhaps this is his way of trying to mend his image of you, now that you are working with us."

Rukia stifled Ichigo with a hand and nodded. "Ok," she said with focus. She popped a small pill in her mouth and emerged from her gigai in Shinigami attire. Her body, now holding Chappy (a soul that Ichigo had come to dislike very strongly), bounced up and down and ran up the stairs to join Mathis's sister, all the while saying 'pyon' to herself over and over again.

Kale cocked an eyebrow and Ichigo shook his head. Kale shrugged and turned to watch Rukia as she stepped forward. She removed her sheathed Zanpakuto from her belt and made to toss it behind her, but Mathis shook his head. Rukia lowered her arm to her side, confused. Mathis intoned, "Draw your weapon, woman."

Rukia frowned at the hint of condescension in his voice, but complied, nonetheless. The steel of her Zanpakuto shone brightly, and she commanded her sword to take form. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

The blade glossed over with pure white, forming an intricate tassel at the bottom of the hilt that trailed like a ribbon dancer's streamer. She took up a defensive sword stance, Zanpakuto in both hands and pointed towards Mathis's throat.

"Do not hold back, no matter what."

Rukia said nothing and nodded. Then she whipped her hand forward and shouted, "Way of Destruction #33: Soukatsui!"

By the time the blue ball of fire had left Rukia's outstretched hand, Mathis had moved. The fire whizzed past him, impacting the far wall but leaving little to no mark. Rukia instantly held her sword up to parry Mathis's counterattack—that never came.

She narrowed her eyes and watched as Mathis stared back, equally as focused. After dodging the kido, he had not moved from that spot.

Rukia shouted the mantra again, sending another payload of blue flame towards Mathis, who effortlessly evaded the attack…only to resume his staring contest with the petite Shinigami.

She felt slightly frustrated at his silence and motionlessness, but she knew better than to charge in out of irritation. Opponents like Mathis were very dangerous, and instructors had perpetually emphasized the importance of patience. Rushing in against such an enemy could prove to be fatal.

So for the next minute or so, Rukia sent several kidos at her elusive opponent, none of which connected. Despite her lack of success, she continued to fire off the spells, eventually coming to a stop when she began to feel her breath hitch a little.

The people watching began to murmur a little, but Rukia couldn't hear what they were saying, nor did she want to or need to. She was in a different dimension now; nothing could distract her from the man in front of her.

"Way of Des—," she began again.

Finally, Mathis sidestepped towards Rukia, and she rushed forward to meet him with her sword. A loud crash grated on the ears of those watching as the sword met Mathis's forearm. The two began a deadly dance that rent the air with the sounds of battle. Mathis effortlessly parried Rukia's attacks and occasionally threw in a couple of his own, quickly managing to overpower Rukia in a few well-placed strikes before going on the defensive again.

Rukia was confused. She was doing well. Much better than she'd expected. She knew Mathis was much stronger than this, but for what reason would he hold back? Especially since he'd began the duel by telling her 'Do not hold back.'

But Ichigo knew. He saw, in Rukia, himself. When he had first fought with Mathis, Mathis had not taken him completely seriously. None of his blows had even come close to scratching the young man, and the handful of precision strikes that Mathis had bothered to hit made it painfully apparent that he had been holding back quite a bit during his fight.

"You see it, do you not, Kurosaki?" Silas asked, his breath returning to normal as he drank deeply from his water bottle. "Do you see how he learns?"

Ichigo nodded. It made sense now that he was observing someone else fight Mathis for the first time. Mathis was holding back his enormous battle prowess to learn more about how Rukia fought. This wasn't a spar; it was an interview. Mathis was analyzing every attack and block Rukia used in their fight to understand more about her as a fighter and also as a person. He recalled with irony the quote 'You never truly know someone until you've fought with him.'

Rukia felt her strength ebb whenever Mathis took up the offensive. She was simply not used to the way he fought, nor the strength with which he struck at her. She barely managed to block the blows in time before they hit her body, and more than once she felt the wake of a punch ruffle her shihakusho.

_I can't keep this up. I need to get some range._

With this in mind she leapt backwards and was unduly shocked when Mathis perfectly followed her movements, dashing forward to keep the distance between them closed. He continued to attack, leaving Rukia breathless and flustered.

_How—?_

A loud clang and Mathis sent Rukia sliding backwards with a sharp blow to her midriff, which she'd barely blocked with Sode no Shirayuki. She dug her feet into the smooth, springy floor to halt her backward motion and panted heavily, the burst of power Mathis had just put out having taken its toll on her.

His expression remained the same, though Rukia imagined he was feeling smug about himself for overpowering her. The irrational child in her flared at this thought and she let off another kido at him.

"Way of Destruction #31: Red Fire Cannon!"

The ball of red rocketed toward Mathis, who, strangely enough, made no attempt to dodge it. He simply raised his hand and growled, "Negation, absorb."

A dark blue light covered Mathis's outstretched hand, and when Rukia's kido hit it, it increased in intensity and size, reaching up to Mathis's elbow. The red orb dissipated and was swallowed up into the dark blue light. Red sparks began to play around Mathis's arm, giving him an intimidating visage.

Rukia gaped. It was the first time she had seen a kido absorbed like that. In many fights she'd witnessed, she'd seen kido blocked or countered by another kido. But to see it simply consumed by a regular human…it sent chills down Rukia's spine.

"Your fighting style is easy to understand," Mathis said monotonously. She blinked and asked, "How so?"

He crossed his arms and replied, "You started our spar with several ranged spells and only chose to engage in close-quarters combat when I forced you to. Your attacks gave me less pause than your spells did, and when you began to lose steam, you attempted to separate yourself from me, no doubt to fire off another spell as you recuperated."

"What's your point?" Rukia said suspiciously. "A fight is a fight."

"In our world, we have battles, not fights. And these battles can either save lives or damn them. To dismiss the details of a fighter simply because 'a fight is a fight' will result in eventual defeat," Mathis said coldly. "Especially regarding oneself. To go into battle without understanding your limits, weaknesses, and strengths is suicide."

"Warriors such as yourself that rely on ranged combat and spellcraft face a serious problem against the Legions and their demons. They are overwhelming in number and will almost always engage you in close quarters. "

He lowered his stance slightly, prompting Rukia to raise her sword in response. She blinked and found Mathis almost breathing down her shihakusho, cold, blue eye burning a hole into hers. She couldn't move her sword, as Mathis's hand had it firmly gripped and pinned to her body.

"This is not a field trip," he said, eye narrowing. "If you cannot fix this flaw in your combat proficiency you will become a burden to the team."

Rukia smirked grimly and replied, "You're underestimating me."

Mathis cocked an eyebrow.

"Some no Mai," she cried, circle of white glowing brightly beneath her feet. "Tsuki—."

Mathis scoffed and released her sword. Instead of retreating, however, he knelt and smashed the floor with the hand covered in blue flame, which intensified as the white circle grew brighter. After a few moments, the circle flickered and faded away, as Mathis's arm glowed with an even more intense blue.

Rukia felt flustered. Why was it that whenever she thought she'd had him he had a new trick up his sleeve? It was almost unfair how easily he was able to counter her.

As if he'd read her mind, Mathis spoke. "Your fighting style is linear and not suited for direct fighting, nor are you as well-versed in swordplay as your companion is. It allows someone like me to absorb your spells and magic and turn it against you."

Rukia blanched at his implication and stood at the ready, waiting for Mathis to attack.

He drew his arm back, channeling the dark blue flame into his fist, which slowly unraveled like a flower, fingers poised like cobras, holding a single orb of purple-bluish energy in place.

He whirled once, twice, and then hurled the ball at Rukia, who knew she wouldn't be able to dodge it even if she wanted to, and chose to stand her ground and take the brunt of the attack.

The moment the projectile hit her Zanpakuto, a loud boom rocked the building as an explosive shockwave propelled Rukia away from the point of impact and into the wall. She hit with a thud and collapsed on the floor, weak and weary, unable to continue fighting.

Ichigo made to run to her, fearing that Mathis was about to go too far, but Silas held him back.

"He's gonna hurt her!"

"Such may be his intention," Silas said calmly.

"The hell it is! I'm not about to stand by and watch her get mauled!"

"No pain, no gain, Ichigo," Kale added, watching Mathis intently. "How many times have you improved without discomfort or pain?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply, but the words would not come. As much as he wanted to argue, he knew Kale was right. He slowly sat down, hands balled into fists that practically glowed white from the force with which he clenched them.

Rukia stood up shakily and tried to regain her bearings when Mathis's silhouette overshadowed her. Before she could wince he lashed out with his right arm—striking the wall beside her head.

There was a pregnant silence as Rukia caught her breath and fully regained her sense of balance. The blow directly to the left of her ear had been a wakeup call; a jolt of adrenaline rushed through her system and bolstered her waning strength. But now the threat was over, her surge of fight-or-flight energy leveled out into normal consciousness.

Mathis withdrew his arm from beside her head, and his steel-blue eye glared into her violet ones unwaveringly again. She did not break eye-contact, unwillingly to back down even now.

"You may not be the most proficient fighter I've ever met, but you are clearly not lacking in spirit," he said softly. He turned and headed to the locker room, leaving Rukia leaning on the wall for support. Ichigo immediately came to her side, eyes full of concern. "You alright, midget?"

Rukia sighed and slid to the floor. "No. I'm not."

She felt crushed. Defeated. She remembered the night when Mathis had completely overwhelmed her and had held her up by her throat, using her to strike a deal with Ichigo.

She felt helpless, and she knew Ichigo could see it in her crestfallen eyes. Nothing he could say would change that, and he knew it, so he chose to sit down next to her instead.

"I think I know how you're feeling. It sucks," he said after a few seconds of silence.

Rukia sighed. "Tell me about it."

His tip of his pinky brushed her hand, but neither of them chose to break the contact. Whether it was fatigue on Rukia's part or Ichigo's innate stubbornness that kept them connected through their fingers, neither knew, but they both felt a little spark flare up from the miniscule contact, and in that moment, they felt close than ever.

As Sarah Jericho descended the steps from the observation deck to the sparring floor, clad in her own training attire, she glanced at the two leaning against the wall and saw them talking to each other, a certain serenity emanating from their eyes, though their expressions seemed grim.

"For people who aren't dating...they look cute together," she giggled under her breath.

Silas looked up from his quick stretch. "I didn't catch that, Sarah. Did you say something?"

"Nothing!" she replied cheerily, bounding off to a corner of the room with a somewhat confused Silas in tow.


	10. Ill Wind

**It's been a really long time since my last update and I'm really sorry. I just had a lot to do and writing the story just wasn't working. But to be clear, I won't ever be ditching this story without putting a The End (or a To be continued depending on how it goes) on the last chapter, so don't worry if I go missing for a couple months. This update is a bit meatier than the others, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did while writing it. All constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged! Just because you don't like the story doesn't mean you can't give me constructive criticism, by the way; negative criticism is still constructive (usually), so please don't be afraid to judge my work in any way shape or form. Happy reading!  
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**Mood Music:  
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**Princess in Captivity - Sagisu Shirou (Warehouse)  
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**Soundscape to Ardor - Sagisu Shirou (Conference Room)  
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**Chapter 10: Ill Wind**

Despite being tired from discussions regarding their excursion to Europe with Kale, Ichigo tensed up immediately when he stepped out of the translocation pad and felt a strange being in the distance. It wasn't a Hollow or a demon, but something about it seemed distinctly alien to him, and he immediately voiced his concern to Rukia, who was still exhausted from the exertion the spar with Mathis had required.

"It's odd for you to be able to sense such a feeble spiritual existence," Rukia said, frowning. "I can't quite place what it is either, so we'll have to assume that whatever it is is hostile."

Ichigo nodded and said, "Stay here. You're in no shape to be fighting right now—."

Rukia grabbed his arm with a surprisingly vice-like grip and firmly replied, "No. I'm going with you."

Ichigo didn't even bother arguing; as much as he wanted to tie her up in about ten feet of rope and toss her in the nearest closet to keep her from following, her tone of voice told him she wasn't about to take no for an answer, so he just rolled his eyes and squeezed his representative badge, causing his body to keel over as his spirit-body forcibly vacated it. Rukia followed suit, and Sarah, who had come back after about half an hour of training with Silas, squeaked in surprise when she saw the two in their spirit forms and their physical bodies discarded like cocoons.

"Watch our bodies for us, will you?" Ichigo called over his shoulder, and Sarah stammered in protest. But it was too late. Ichigo and Rukia had rocketed up the stairs and out of the base in several leaping bounds, leaving Sarah with Rukia's bubbly mod-soul and Ichigo's lifeless body, which she nudged with her foot.

Ichigo rushed out of the club and tried to pinpoint the source of the strange emanations, but was unable to do so. Unable to detect the entity's location, he turned to Rukia, who closed her eyes and lifted her head like a dog. She breathed deeply and turned to her right, down the street and motioned for Ichigo to follow. The two dashed forward, Rukia in the lead.

"What the hell is it…?" Ichigo wondered aloud. "It doesn't seem like anything I've ever felt before."

Rukia shook her head. "I don't know…In all my years I've never heard of anything with this kind of spiritual signature either."

"It's gotta be a demon then," Ichigo reasoned.

"What makes you think that?" Rukia asked him.

He hurtled over a chimney and kept his eyes peeled for the anomaly, explaining to Rukia, "If you've never felt something like this before I'm sure it wasn't from Soul Society or the Hollows. And it's too much of a coincidence for something unknown to pop up just when we're starting to learn about these Legion demon things. The most logical explanation is that it's with the demons, and that we haven't encountered it yet."

"That seems about right," Rukia agreed, panting a little from their quick movements.

Ichigo warned her, "Rukia, you really need to relax. Mathis hit you pretty hard with that…spell. Whatever it was. We can't have you getting hurt—."

"Well then, you'd best be keeping an eye on me, shouldn't you?" she shot back irritably. Ichigo shook his head at her stubbornness. It almost felt like he was trying to talk to a wall. But at least the wall didn't have a sharp tongue.

"Where the hell is this thing anyway…?" she muttered under her breath, slowing to a stop on a rooftop. Ichigo landed next to her and tried to help with sensing the position of the anomaly, but found that he still could not.

Rukia looked around, and Ichigo could see the confusion and concern on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"We haven't gotten any closer to the source of the disturbance."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the observation. "So that just means it's moving away from us."

The petite Shinigami shook her head and replied, "That would mean it knows exactly where and how quickly we've been moving. We've been moving around in circles for the past few minutes. There's no way it's just tracking us and moving in the exact same directions as we are."

Rukia reached into a pocket in her shihakusho and pulled out her spirit-phone, which was flashing brightly as a call came in.

"Renji?"

"_Yo. You're reading those spirit-entities, right?" _came Renji's voice through the phone.

"We're only tracking one at the moment. We don't know what it is, though, and we aren't getting any closer to it, no matter where we go."

Renji was silent for a moment. _"That's…not what I'm getting."_

Ichigo and Rukia shared a quick glance, both concerned about Renji's uncertain tone. "What do you mean?"

"_We brought a larger dish for tracking any form of spiritual energy so we wouldn't have to rely on pure instinct to catch these goons. I'm looking at the machine right now and it's showing the whole of Karakura. A bunch of these dots are everywhere and every second they change position…except for one."_

"Where is that one?" Ichigo asked, dreading the answer a little.

"_Right on top of you guys."_

Ichigo immediately whirled around with Zangetsu, causing the massive blade to bite into…the chimney?

Rukia stood with her back to Ichigo's and spoke clearly into her phone. "We're not seeing anything around us. Check again."

"_There's no way I'm not reading this right, Rukia. The only signal that hasn't moved is the one by you."_

Rukia and Ichigo circled around, eyes flitting from shadow to shadow, trying to discern some hidden entity. But they saw nothing hostile; nothing seemed abnormal. A dumpster. A mannequin leaning against the alley wall. The street light. A stray cat that disappeared into another alley.

"_Holy shit. Rukia. Listen to me. Rukia, come in!"_

Rukia immediately responded, "What is it?"

"_A couple of guys left for patrol half an hour ago. The signals I'm reading are mostly sporadic, but sometimes they clump up together randomly. A bunch of them appeared by one of the patrolmen and we heard him scream before communications broke off. We haven't been able to get in touch with him since, nor his partner. We know it's hostile now. Whatever you do, keep away from them."_

Ichigo replied, "That's going to be tough, considering we don't know what the hell they look like."

"_Move."_ Renji's voice came in through bursts of static, muddling his words.

"Say again?"

"_MOVE! THEY'RE MOVING TOWARDS YOU!" _Renji bellowed before static clouded the connection completely and severed the link.

Ichigo felt dread cloud his senses and grabbed Rukia around her waist, much to her protest. He carved a hole in the rooftop and allowed himself to drop down into what appeared to be some kind of factory, filled with cloth looms, mannequins, and a variety of thread spools.

The moonlight illuminated the factory floor for a moment, before a series of shadows blocked out the light and sealed up the hole.

Ichigo and Rukia remained still for several seconds, before Rukia whispered to herself, forming a bulb of reiatsu that lit up their faces with a pale blue glow. They appeared ghastly to one another, as did the motionless mannequins within their immediate vicinity.

"Think that's a good idea…?" Ichigo asked quietly. "They're probably in here with us right now."

"I'd rather be attacked than be tripping over myself in the dark. It puts us at less of a disadvantage," she replied, swinging around and surveying their surroundings. Pillars of cloth and thread spools shimmered in the dim light of Rukia's kido, giving Ichigo the impression of some kind of forest. A creepy forest. The blank faces of the mannequins stared at Ichigo intently, and he dreaded looking back at them. Something about them put him off in a very eerie way.

In front, Rukia held the kido ball forward like one would hold a lantern, holding her Zanpakuto at the ready beside her. A loud thud caused her to turn quickly toward the sound, bending her knees slightly in preparation for a fight. The light in her hand intensified into a beam, revealing…a mannequin.

"These things are creepy as hell," Ichigo said, trying to brush off the unease that kept eating at him.

"Shh!" Rukia said, advancing toward the mannequin.

She couldn't dismiss some odd feeling about the mannequin. Like it was actively watching her. Ichigo's own restlessness unnerved her as much as—.

"OW!" Ichigo yowled. Rukia whirled around and pointed the beam at Ichigo, who froze when he saw the three mannequins standing in a semicircle around him.

"Those…those were not there before," Ichigo whispered.

"Why'd you yell?" Rukia asked softly.

"Something hit me. Hard."

_Thwack_.

Rukia saw stars as something hit the back of her head. She stumbled forward into one of the three mannequins, knocking it over and landing in a heap on the floor. The mannequin fell apart from the force, and its head comically rolled away before halting at the foot of a loom.

Rukia whipped her hand out to relight the kido that had self-extinguished when her concentration had broken, and the light beamed out again, revealing the mannequin that was standing by the wall.

Only it was standing where Rukia had been only seconds ago.

Ichigo pulled Rukia to her feet, warily eying the false bodies and gripping his great cleaver tightly.

"What the hell is this…I was expecting demons, not possessed dolls," he stammered.

Rukia stood with her back to Ichigo and panted a little, half out of fatigue from her spar with Mathis and half out of fear. She lifted her hand to the ceiling and intensified the light as best as she could. The light rose to the ceiling and cast a faint glow on the entirety of the factory, allowing Rukia to place both her hands on her sword.

Every single mannequin in the factory had congregated around them.

Ichigo snapped, cutting through the dolls with Zangetsu and snarling all the while. "SHOW YOURSELVES!"

Rukia watched as he cut further into the horde of mannequins, until she could no longer see him clearly, though his motions were vaguely visible thanks to her orblight.

_Psst._

Rukia whirled on the solitary mannequin on her right only to discover it had disappeared. She'd heard a whisper from that direction—.

Another whisper and she practically pulled a muscle as she whirled around in panic. This was not something she was used to. She'd been trained to fight Hollows. No matter how strong they were, Hollows did not scare her. Not like this. She felt her normal calm composure slowly melt as the whispers continued and the mannequins repositioned themselves as they pleased. These things that had been chasing them were whittling down her mental strength, wearing down her resolve.

But her militaristic Shinigami side kicked in, stilling her shaking hands and mentally berating her weakness. _I am a Shinigami of Soul Society. I am stronger than these demons, and I will not falter._

She breathed a little, and cleared her mind. Suddenly the mannequins became visible, despite the light being very faint in the factory. She could see them. And if she could see them—.

A loud snap cracked through the air, and the suddenly Rukia heard the sounds of a fight in the distant end of the factory. Metal striking metal, Ichigo's grunts and shouts as he battled a new adversary who cackled and screamed like a maniac, and a subtle shift in the energy of the factory told Rukia that an enemy had made itself known.

"Ichigo!" she called, shoving some of the dolls aside as she sprinted for the other side of the factory. After a few bounds, however, the orb of light she'd set up earlier flickered and suddenly cut out for a moment, leaving Rukia in the dark, straining to get used to the lack of illumination. The orb relit itself after a moment, revealing the circle of mannequins that stood around Rukia. A pang of fear reignited in her chest, and the mannequins, as though they were reacting to her emotions, simultaneously looked up at the hanging light and somehow shut it off, leaving Rukia blind in the dark once again.

She swung Sode no Shirayuki in front of her but found that the dolls had moved again, and swore when a hard object struck her in the small of her back. She rolled into some machine and wobbled to her feet, disoriented and still unable to see.

The next few seconds were a blur to her. What was ostensibly a ribbon of cloth wrapped itself around both of her legs and coiled tightly, bringing them together and throwing Rukia off balance. She fell backwards onto the machine again and lost Sode no Shirayuki to the darkness as her grip loosened and something in the shadows tugged the blade away. She barely had time to curse as a wider sheet of cloth came to life as well, coiling around her entire body and trapping her arms in its embrace like a snake. She struggled and gasped when the cloth drew even tighter around her, squeezing the energy out of her already-taxed muscles and ensuring her imprisonment.

All the while the orb above kept flickering, and with each burst of light Rukia saw the mannequins that had disappeared before reappear one by one in a formation around her, and a sense of dread overwhelmed her. She struggled again with renewed vigor, cringing as her binds coiled tighter. She irritably flexed her hand to the best of her ability and cast a bolt of reiatsu through the thickly bound cloth. The resulting explosion ripped through her restraints, and the snake-like linens slithered down her body and flopped uselessly on the floor. She took up her fists into a fighting stance and prepared for what was coming.

A powerful shockwave ripped through the air and the mannequins vanished to the far walls of the factory, leaving a roiling mass of _something_ in front of her. It looked like the a million spiders had clustered up into a giant sphere, which looked as though it were squirming and crawling all over itself. Rukia's skin itched, but she held her ground. Sode no Shirayuki was nowhere to be seen, so she would have to at least make use of what limited hand to hand combat skill she had, as she was sure that the mass of spiders wouldn't give her enough time to fire off any kido without hurting herself.

For a moment Rukia was sure it was going to attack her. The killing intent was almost palpable, and the ball had inched closer to her, like a predator about to maul its dinner. But then the murderous aura gave way to whispers, and in its place Rukia sensed a wariness and curiosity. What happened next couldn't have been further from what Rukia had been expecting.

"_You…you are…Kuchiki…Rukia,"_ an amalgamation of voices whispered, causing Rukia's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded, tightening her fists in anticipation of battle.

"_We have something…meant for you."_

And before she could react, the sphere of black engulfed her. There was no pressure, however, nor was there any pain, only the sensation of what she could only describe as multiple legs skittering across her skin. The skittering soon subsided and when she opened her eyes, she was standing on a snowy landscape. Her vision was blurry, limiting her line of sight to the few feet around her.

_What the hell is this? A vision?_

The myriad of voices haltingly chanted, _"You…will be the first of your allies…to taste the scorpion's sting…"_

"Scorpion? Who is the scorpion?" Rukia asked, before a muffled roar caught her attention. She couldn't see the source, though, nor could she move forward, rooted in her current position by some unknown force. The sounds of battle reached her ears, and she heard a female voice that sounded like it belonged to an unfamiliar young woman.

"_The first of four…will bite at the Jealous One…and you will save her."_

Rukia was plunged into darkness and clearly saw in the distance, Mathis.

"_This boy…is your only hope of victory..." _the voices murmured. Mathis turned to look at her for a split moment before turning back and walking further into the dark and out of Rukia's sight.

She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"_It was written in our threads...it is our duty…to maintain the web that you call time…"_

The darkness seemed to shudder, and Rukia again heard the sounds of Ichigo fighting his unknown adversary. "Ichigo!" she shouted, to no avail.

"Why are you attacking him?" she demanded.

"_We are not…We have simply shown him…a piece of his future as well…"_

* * *

Ichigo had only made a few bounds through the horde of mannequins when he'd realized that somehow the space between himself and Rukia had somehow grown much larger than he'd actually travelled. He made to return to her, only to be attacked by none other than the bane of his fears: his inner Hollow.

At first he'd thought that one of the mannequins was fighting back, but he quickly recognized the pale white skin, photo-negative shihakusho, and the insane expression on the hollow's face. Wielding a white version of Zangetsu and cackling madly, he'd assailed him, screaming, "YO KING! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Ichigo struggled to regain his balance from the sudden attack and panic set in when he realized he wasn't dreaming. He attempted to trade blows with the Hollow, only to be overwhelmed by his unpredictable, berserk fighting style.

"How the hell are you here? In the real world?" Ichigo yelled back.

The Hollow's black and yellow eyes widened with glee and he screeched back, "Let's just say someone wanted to send you a wakeup call!"

Words were lost as the battle raged on, Ichigo defending as best as he could against the Hollow's assault, trying to lash out every once in a while. A few glancing hits landed, but nothing serious. The small nicks only served to reinforce the Hollow's vigor, as evidenced by the increasing frequency of his laughs and cackles, and the escalating weight behind each blow.

_Goddammit. How is _he_ here? _Ichigo wondered furiously. He parried a blow that would've torn his head off and ducked to avoid a kick to the face. A gleam warned him too late of the Hollow's erratic, flail-like swordplay, and he leapt away, a gash leaking blood from his chest.

"What's wrong, King?" the insane spirit asked, swinging his blade in circles so quickly that Ichigo was amazed he wasn't flying like a helicopter. The buzzing put him on edge, and he inched backwards to gain some maneuverability. A mistake, as it turned out.

The Hollow's eyes gleamed at the small retreat and he hurled his white Zangetsu straight at Ichigo's head, forcing him to dodge to the side and earn a new cut on his cheek. He took the initiative and attempted to charge forward while the Hollow was disarmed, but the ever widening grin on his face told him something was wrong, and once again, a split second too late, he noticed his hand tugging on the cloth that was attached to the white Zangetsu's hilt.

He stumbled as the blade cut into his shoulder, and rolled into a wall with a loud smack as the Hollow leapt past him and kicked him backwards. He began whirling his blade again, and sneered, "If I didn't know better…I'd say you got weaker than the last time we fought."

Ichigo rose shakily to his feet and shook the stars out of his vision. He took up Zangetsu into the activation stance for his Bankai and growled, "Wanna say that again?"

The Hollow's grin disappeared, but he didn't seem overly worried. If anything, he seemed…unimpressed.

"Oh? Are you going to use your Bankai against me?"

"Maybe I am," Ichigo replied through gritted teeth.

The Hollow raised the false Zangetsu and pointed it at Ichigo in a challenging manner, a small, mocking smirk reappearing on his face as he challenged him, "Go ahead."

Ichigo allowed the reiatsu to flow through Zangetsu and grunted, "Bankai!"

The black longsword vibrated as the last traces of reiatsu poured into it and condensed, prompting Ichigo to move forward quickly and end their battle in one fell-swoop. There was no way his Hollow could—.

A hand, which Ichigo realized belonged to his parallel soul, grabbed him by the hem of his robe and hurled him with almighty force back into the wall. A loud crack resounded through the factory as the wall split a little under the force of the throw.

"How predictable! Did you really think that little speed boost was enough to give you an edge on ME?" the Hollow laughed, leering at him from several yards away. "How insulting, King!"

Ichigo rose to his feet for the umpteenth time in so many minutes and pulled Tensa Zangetsu back, allowing reiatsu to cloud around the blade. "Getsuga…" he began, eyes trained on the Hollow with fiery determination.

The Hollow's expression did not change as Ichigo let loose the bolt of spiritual energy. "TENSHO!"

A sudden spasm of pain wormed its way up his spine, and he staggered to the left a little as the bolt left Tensa Zangetsu's tip. The bolt missed the Hollow by a hair, cutting a swathe of destruction through the factory. And even so, the Hollow smiled. Smiled as though he were a child and had caught Santa in the act of leaving presents under the tree. Anger gripped Ichigo, and he was tempted to run forward and stab the bastard straight through the mouth to see if he would continue smiling.

"You still don't get it do you?" he howled, covering his face with a hand as he guffawed. "You really think that Bankai is truly yours, don't you?

A chill ran through Ichigo's spine, and he asked haltingly, "What…what do you mean by that?"

"What's your Bankai do for you, King?" he asked condescendingly. "Does it give you a reiatsu boost? Maybe it gives you more muscle? Maybe your body undergoes transformation! Right?"

Ichigo gritted his teeth at the Hollow's jibes and considered his question seriously. _Tensa Zangetsu gives me more_—.

"Speed," the Hollow finished for him, a snide expression of triumph plain on his face. "And you use that speed to attack harder and faster. Who does that sound like?"

The ramifications of the question caused Ichigo to blanch. "You don't mean…"

"That pathetic little thing you call a Bankai is just your way of imitating ME, King. How unsightly. Since when did kings aspire to be like their horses?" he asked, pointing a finger of accusation at Ichigo.

"Let me show you what a _real_ Bankai is," he said, raising Zangetsu up to the ceiling. "BAN—!"

A loud burst of static caused both of them to freeze, and the Hollow looked down at his body to see lines wavering around his midriff, distorting his physical shape like a heat wave would distort images in the distance. "Tsk. Is that all the time I have left?"

"_It is…go back from whence you came…"_ an unknown voice responded. The static began to buzz more incessantly, and his inner Hollow looked up at him and graced him with a little smile.

"I'd be a little more than worried if I were you, King. A horse like me can only abide by such a useless rider for so long," he chuckled. And with a final crackle, the insane creature winked out of existence, as though he were simply turned off by an omnipotent switch.

The silence that followed was deafening. The mannequins that had been vanishing and reappearing in different locations now remained still, some still shaking from the booming wave of air of his inner Hollow's disappearance. The previously covered hole in the ceiling was already clear, and moonlight streamed in, casting gloomy shadows across the factory floor.

But Ichigo didn't notice any of that. He didn't even hear Rukia calling his name in the not-too-distant reaches of the factory. All he could see was a photo-negative of his own face leering back at him, all he could hear his own distorted voice laughing at him, and all he could feel was complete and utter _defeat_. It was a feeling he was largely unfamiliar with, and only now did he realize how crushing it was, how debilitating of a disease it was. Was this how everyone he'd fought in the past had felt?

_No. This isn't just defeat_, he thought, thinking of Kenpachi and his continued desire to fight and Renji's indifference towards the fact that they had, at one point, been bitter enemies. _They got back up. So why does it feel like I can't?_

* * *

"His future?" Rukia asked cautiously. "For what reason?"

The mass of spider-like beings rematerialized in front of her, writhing and squirming like it was trying to rid itself of something unseen. _"There are some…who contain a power…strong enough to endanger time itself…by destroying those around themselves…"_

Rukia suddenly understood. _His inner Hollow…_she wondered. But then…

"Why me?"

"_There is a tome that none can read…but our threads told up a spirit…one who possessed an innate ability to read that book…and that spirit is none other…than yourself…" _the roiling mass rumbled. A gust of wind suddenly ripped through the dark, causing her hair to flutter into her eyes. When the wind subsided and she cleared her hair out of her vision, Rukia found in front of her a thick book with intricate leather binding and a metal lock. The archaic inscriptions were lost on her, and she hesitatingly pulled it out of the air, surprised by its hefty weight.

"_It is Clarity…request of it three answers about most…and it will show you through letter and memory…For others, it will only show one…"_ the mass continued, squirming left and right as though it were gesturing. _"But be warned…search a man in pain…and you will share his torment…"_

The moment the last syllable of that cryptic statement was processed in Rukia's head, a loud _boom_ rocked her backwards, leaving her dazed as the darkness sucked itself back into the roiling mass of spidery beings and then detonated, sending streams of the mass every which way. They eventually coursed through the hole in the roof and left behind nothing in their wake. Moonlight came through the hole and left everything in a strange, ghostly cast. Thankfully the factory was still, and it seemed as though the mannequins had stopped playing their tricks, though Rukia occasionally expected to turn and find one following her.

She raised her hand and brought the orb of light down from its perch in the ceiling, extinguishing it with a flick of her fingers. She strode through the wreckage of Ichigo's frantic rampage with his enemy or future or whatever it was, and found Sode no Shirayuki gleaming in the moonlight. She picked it up and sheathed it quickly, looking around for Ichigo.

She cupped a hand around her mouth and called, "Ichigo!" The sound reverberated through the factory, but there was no response. She grew worried and called again, and was again greeted by silence. She reached out and tried to find his reiatsu, but found nothing. Her worry worsened. Ichigo's reiatsu was almost impossible to miss, even at large distances.

Another loud _boom_ knocked her off-kilter, and Rukia saw a figure off to her side appear for a brief moment and vanish. She stumbled over a fallen mannequin as she sprinted over to the area, fearing the worst. "Ichigo!" she called again, reaching out with her spiritual sense to find his immense reiatsu. It was there, and thankfully he did not seem to be in any mortal danger.

She reached the wall and saw Ichigo in his Bankai state, sitting against the wall with his head slightly bowed as though he were in prayer. He was wounded, but it didn't seem like he was in any immediate danger. What caused Rukia further anxiety was the expression on his face. When Ichigo had told her of his inner Hollow, she'd seen a certain desolation on his face and heard an uncertainty in his voice, but his eyes had a spark of determination and willpower. They looked alive. Right now she saw in his expression a reflection of how she'd felt just an hour before, when Mathis had easily defeated her. He looked as though he were in utter despair. Powerless against something or someone that had simply toyed with him. Rukia knew, at that moment, that he had just fought against his inner Hollow and lost.

She didn't know what to say. It was not like Ichigo to slump like that after a battle, even if he knew he could not win. When Aizen had almost severed his spine in Soul Society, he had continued to struggle, gritting his teeth and trying to get up, despite his obvious incapacitation. When the three captains had announced their defection and left for Hueco Mundo, he'd still shown some measure of strength and discipline.

But here he was, as lifeless as a man could be.

A small part of Rukia wanted to sit down with him and talk with him as though nothing had happened, as he had done earlier for her. It had settled her unsteady heart, at least. But she knew that it wouldn't help him. So instead…

"What happened?" she asked, almost roughly.

"I fought him," he muttered back.

"Who?" she pressed on.

He replied venomously, "Who do you think?"

"Are you so afraid of him that you can't even give me his identity?" she asked harshly. She was surprised and appalled at herself, but deep down she knew this was what she had to do.

Ichigo looked almost as though he wanted to swing his sword at her; his eyes were practically burning with frustration. _There. That's better than before, at least._

"You alone know him. You are the only one who can fight him before it's too late. So why do you look like you've given up?" she demanded, fists tightening as the part of herself that wasn't too sure about this mode of attack agreed with this observation.

Ichigo bolted to his feet and grabbed a fistful of her shihakusho, hoisting her off her feet, and roared, "I HAVEN'T."

The two remained like that for several silent seconds before Ichigo became conscious of himself and dropped her unceremoniously. He turned and panted a little from his outburst, blood still seeping out of various wounds. Rukia straightened her uniform and approached his side. She firmly gripped his shoulder and said reassuringly, "You look more up to it than you did a minute ago."

His eyes had the same spark she normally saw in them, and the lifelessness that had surrounded his expression had dissipated.

He looked back at her with a slight irritation and scoffed.

"Whatever."

* * *

Sarah tapped her foot nervously as the Rukia-who-wasn't-really-Rukia paraded Ichigo's lifeless body around the spacious conference room in the underground base. She'd been waiting for an hour now, occasionally listening to Kale discuss plans to make a move towards Europe with Silas but mostly watching Matty meditate. According to Kale, Matty had had the room specially made for him and him alone, though to what specifications neither she nor Kale knew. A single pane of Plexiglas walled him from her, and though they were only separated by a few yards, the expression on his face made her feel as though he was miles away.

Sarah fidgeted again while glancing at Mathis's still form. Though he was facing the glass pane and had closed his visible eye, Sarah had a feeling the eye that remained hidden from sight was open and was watching her. She didn't like it at all. Nor did she like the almost invisible snarl that was ever-present on his mouth, or the hardness of his eye whenever it swept over her.

"I miss you, Matty…" Sarah murmured, pulling up her knees to her chest and hugging them close, burying her mouth and nose into the little crevice of her arms while watching Kale scratch his head in frustration as Silas pointed at something on an unseen map.

Mathis suddenly opened his eye and intoned, "They are here."

Not two seconds later, the conference door burst open and a small group of people came in, supporting a slightly bloodied Ichigo and Rukia. Silas and Kale immediately moved to sit the two down, dismissing those who had brought them in with a quick salute. Ichigo breathed normally, from what Sarah saw, and Rukia was near-untouched, though she looked visibly shaken and exhausted.

"What happened?" Silas asked, eyes flitting up and down Ichigo's body and examining his major wounds. "Were you attacked?"

Ichigo murmured shiftily, "More or less."

Kale looked quizzically at Silas, who returned the confused expression, before he asked Ichigo, "More or less? What do you mean by that? Did you get jumped by a demon pack—?"

The Plexiglas pane slid into the ground, and once it was fully immersed in the floor, Mathis stepped out and strode over to the pair, prompting Kale and Silas to slowly step aside. There was a strange expression of foreboding on Mathis's face that was still a far cry from pleasantness or kindness, but his usual irritation and anger didn't show.

"You've met with them, haven't you?" he asked.

Rukia blinked. "Who?"

Mathis slowly took the book tucked under her arm and examined it. He then replied, "You have. You've met with the Weavers."

Ichigo and Rukia glanced at each other, confused. Everyone else in the room, however, including the normally chipper Sarah, cringed at the word.

"What? Why did everyone flinch all of a sudden?" Ichigo asked.

Kale scratched his head and said, "They're…kind of a big deal."

"How so?" Rukia asked, reclaiming the tome from Mathis's outstretched hand.

"The Weavers are like demi-gods. They're ridiculously strong, and they've killed anything in their way that didn't bounce. They're the caretakers of what they call the Webs of Time." Kale scratched his head again and looked at Silas. The suit shrugged and stepped forward to the table. After a minute or so of typing and scrolling, he tapped a button that darkened the room's lights and lowered a clear screen into the room just in front of the room Mathis had just vacated.

A projector began feeding images into the clear screen, and the ball of spiders Rukia had seen before were made clear. Sarah saw her shudder a little again, and couldn't blame her. She hated spiders too. She grasped her arms as if the gesture would help warm her.

"Are you cold?" Mathis asked monotonously. There was little care or urgency in his voice, which caused a pang of sorrow to taint Sarah's breath, but she smiled all the while and said, "I'll be ok!"

Without another word Mathis turned away, looking intently at the screen and the images it delivered. Sarah fidgeted a little, but reluctantly did the same.

Silas cleared his throat and explained, "These are what the Weavers normally look like. As you may or may not have noticed, they choose to take the form of spider-like entities, which is appropriate for their name. The Webs of Time, as we have found from research, are paranormal threads that dictate the course of history."

"For example," he said, tapping another button and bringing up a web diagram, "if I chose to wear a red shirt instead of a blue shirt, my future would branch off into two different futures, though the change would be miniscule. Further choices from that point on will continue to branch my timeline until there are millions of permutations for my future. Sometimes they will converge, other times they will diverge."

Silas tapped the center of the web diagram. "This point represents our birth into the world, and the spokes of the web represent different choices and possible directions for our futures, though I would assume that our webs would be considerably more intricate than this diagram we have."

Kale continued from where he left off. "So the Weavers make sure that these Webs don't get wrecked. Not physically, but in terms of time and space and whatnot. In their eyes, there are individuals and spirits like you folks that can permanently destroy some of their Webs, and that is very bad for them and us." Kale thought for a second, then added, "We don't actually know what happens if a Web or two gets destroyed, but we're under the impression that it ain't a pretty sight, since so many things rely on others. Kind of like if you were to sweep out a support column in this building and how we might get caved in, might not."

"So the Weavers basically find anomalies in their Webs, and how they do this we have no clue, and they subtly influence them so that they won't cause harm to their Webs. Anyone else is most likely expendable to them, so if you get in their way and you ain't an anomaly, chances are you're going to die," Kale finished. He drew his thumb across his neck and made a little _kkhtt_ sound to emphasize his point.

"They are also very cruel." Silas added. "I do not know what you experienced, but I know from research and second-hand accounts that they attack via psychological warfare as much as you would wield your swords. They torment their targets before they make their intent clear, and from what we've learned, their scare tactics serve no discernible purpose. They simply enjoy playing with their food, as it were."

Both Rukia and Ichigo flinched a little at some memory of the encounter with the timekeepers, and Sarah imagined they were reliving a particularly disturbing segment of the meeting.

"The fact that neither of you is dead means that the Weavers consider you very powerful. How they judge this, we have no idea," Silas continued, glancing back and forth from Rukia to Ichigo.

"Wouldn't it make more sense for them to simply destroy us?" Rukia asked.

"Well…they _have _done that in the past…" Silas said, his expression dark. "They do not kill them outright; they operate via self-termination."

"Basically if they want to kill people like you, they'll whisper some sweet-nothings in your ear and you'll be consumed by the thought of killing yourself," Kale explained. Noticing the expression of horror on Rukia's face, he hastily said, "Not in the way you're thinking. They'll usually martyr themselves for a good cause, or try to mount a one-man attack against their enemy and die in the process. It's the best way for them to kill off a threat without causing too much interference with the people that are connected to their target."

There was silence as Ichigo and Rukia both considered what they'd just learned. Sarah noticed a hardness in Ichigo's eyes as he mulled this over and knew something was on his mind.

Ichigo looked up and asked wearily, wounds obviously taking a toll on his spiritual body, "How do you know all of this?"

Silas waved a hand in mock surprise. "Please. As powerful and intimidating as they are, we are rooted too deeply in information networks to not hear about such incidents. We've heard of and interviewed many survivors of Weaver encounters, and we've had a small handful within our own strike force."

Kale and Silas simultaneously pointed at Mathis.

"He's met with the Weavers on three separate occasions," Kale said, and then turned to Sarah.

"And she," he continued, walking over to Sarah and patting her on her shoulder like a fond uncle would his favorite niece, "has met with them once, too."

Sarah blushed and smiled. Kale's tone of voice always seemed like he was complimenting her, even when stating easy facts. She stood up and asked, "May I?"

Kale nodded his head. "Knock yourself out, kiddo."

She walked over to the wounded Ichigo and knelt before him, surprising Ichigo and causing him to shift in his seat. She laughed and reassured him, "I won't bite."

She began to hum softly, rocking side to side as she recited the notes from memory. It was a sweet melody that she'd learned from a dream long ago. As she hummed, her hands found their way up to Ichigo's hands and held them firmly, confusing Ichigo and Rukia.

"What are you—," he began before Sarah's melody ended. His expression immediately changed to that of complete shock, and was followed by bewilderment. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out, giving him the appearance of a fish gasping for breath.

Sarah felt through their newfound connection a strong spirit and determination. There was a kindness that shone like a candle and a fierceness that threatened to blot it out from sheer intensity. Something about Ichigo was just…bright.

She could no longer make out words from the outside now, but she knew someone was trying to explain to the two Shinigami what exactly Sarah was doing. She had told them all, including Matty, that all she was doing was melding a small part of her life force with another person's in order to heal their injuries. That it did not cause her any harm, despite the fact that she was sacrificing part of herself.

This was a lie.

Sarah had found out when she was young that by linking both hands with the hands of another individual, she could not only heal them, she could also look into their souls. She didn't understand the significance of the physical contact, but soon did not care; she had found that it was an amazing power, and had tested it on various pets and friends. It was similar to mind-reading, but it was much more imprecise and vague, as it only saw emotions and feelings, and not so much specific thoughts and memories.

She had also learned how dangerous it was, and how it was different from mind-reading again in that it was also a much more potent immersion. In 'reading' a person's soul, she was not just looking into them as though she were flipping the pages of a book; she became that person momentarily, and shared their emotions and their motivations. She had once tried to understand the pain of a distant relative who had lost his son to cancer. The grief had overwhelmed her, and she had locked herself in her room for several days, refusing to go to school or see anyone save Matty and her parents. Since she had been so young then, she had not understood what she'd experienced, but she'd come to understand very quickly that her power was not a toy or a plaything, but a tool to be used only in certain situations. As she grew older, she amended this rule over and over, adding restrictions upon limitations so that she wouldn't abuse it.

Mathis had very adamantly denied her entry to the Underworld at first, but Sarah had spoken with other high-ranking members of the organization, and when they realized how much of an asset her ability to heal soldiers in the hundreds without breaking a sweat was, they had immediately overruled Mathis's objections. They had originally posted her in the heart of their European base of operations in Munich, but after careful consideration, they had reassigned her to Mathis's special task force, hoping to reinforce their spearhead in the coming war, and also to placate a displeased Mathis. During this long span of time, Sarah had learned to suppress the soul-reading part of her power, only tapping into the healing segment of the ability as she saw fit. She rarely found the need to examine someone and always avoided doing so if she could.

In fact, this was one of the few times that Sarah deemed appropriate for the use of her forays. Ichigo's eyes had darkened when Silas and Kale had explained the nature of the Weavers, and that had deeply worried Sarah. The Weavers deserved every bit of wary respect that Kale and Silas had given them; they had visited her in the recent past, and the experience had nearly destroyed her consciousness, to the point that she repressed the memories, making them little more than blurs and unintelligible sounds if she ever thought about it. The Weavers were heralds of danger, and the expression she'd seen on Ichigo's face that was curiously absent on Rukia's warranted a quick look-see.

She slowly and carefully touched on the various emotions Ichigo was feeling, and found that most of them were dominated by the bright determination she'd seen earlier. Positive emotions and motivations and noble intentions were practically everywhere, and Sarah couldn't help but giggle. He resembled a knight in shining armor from an old children's book.

But just as she made this observation, a new, starkly contrasting entity made itself known to her. The entangling stench of the new, dark cloud curled around her as tendrils of whatever it was extended to try and grab her, causing her to rear back a little in self-defense. It seemed amused at her retreat and chose to let her go, an echo of maniacal laughter mocking her as she pulled herself out of Ichigo's existence.

She opened her eyes as Ichigo did the same, and asked brightly, "Are you feeling better?"

Ichigo patted himself and seemed to realize that his wounds had been closed, and he stood up to get a better feel of his body's mended state.

"How'd you do that?" Ichigo asked, sitting back down after he was sure that all the gashes and bruises he'd sustained during his encounter with the Weavers were gone.

Sarah put a finger on her mouth playfully and said, "It's a secret!"

She leapt to her feet and pranced back to her seat by Mathis, who had been standing motionlessly throughout the whole process. Kale said, "We'll be wrapping up our mission parameters by tomorrow night, so be ready to leave on a moment's notice."

"Alright…" Ichigo sighed. "My teacher's gonna really chew me out for taking time off from school like this…"

"You will have saved his life," Silas said, before adding, "Though he would never know."

"I'm overjoyed," Ichigo said dryly.

He got up and made to leave, but Sarah noticed that Rukia remained seated. Ichigo took note of this with a foot out the door and asked quizzically, "What are you waiting for? Let's go."

Rukia looked up at Ichigo, snapped out of whatever reverie she'd been in, and replied, "Actually there's something I wanted to discuss with them. I'll meet you later, Ichigo."

If he was disappointed, he did a very good job of concealing it, simply shrugging his head and leaving. A few seconds later Sarah heard his agitated voice fighting against a female's repeated 'pyon!'s and wondered if he was wrestling with the not-Rukia.

* * *

Rukia remained in her seat for several moments, and she became increasingly aware of the loud silence.

"Speak." Mathis's gravelly tones practically echoed in the conference room.

Rukia steeled herself and rose from her seat, only to fall to her knees and bow her head at Mathis's feet, announcing, "Mathis Jericho, please help me become stronger!"

The petite Shinigami couldn't see any of their faces from her position, but she imagined that they were all shocked, judging by the unearthly silence that had reclaimed the room. For two minutes the silence persisted, before Mathis spoke.

"Why?"

"Does it matter?" Rukia asked, maintaining her kneeled/bowed position.

"As a matter of fact," Mathis said, grabbing Rukia by the shoulder and hoisting her to her feet, apparently annoyed by the bowing and kneeling, "it's all that matters. Force means nothing without direction."

Rukia met his steely gaze for the second time in two hours, and once again refused to falter. He narrowed his eye. The small expression made his thoughts clear: _Tell me why, or my answer is no._

"It's for Ichigo."

"How cute," Mathis said, turning away immediately and walking back towards the glass meditation chamber.

"Wait!" Rukia called after him. "It's not what you think!"

"Is that so?" Mathis said, voice devoid of interest and back still turned to Rukia as he continued to the center of the chamber.

"He has a dangerous spirit inside of him that poses a threat to both the Underworld and Soul Society!" Rukia bellowed, frustrated that he refused to take her seriously.

But it seemed this statement had found its mark. Mathis stopped moving and slowly turned his head to lock eyes with Rukia. "Is this what you were shown?"

"No," she replied, walking up to the young man and entering the large, empty room. "He warned me."

"If he poses any threat then I will destroy him myself," Mathis intoned, voice as cold as ice. She could see he meant what he said by the harsh glint in his eye and the subtle snarl that curled his lip.

"He's trying to subdue him," Rukia said. "I know he can do it, but if that spirit comes out in the meantime—."

"Did I not make myself clear?" Mathis cut her off. "If he poses any threat, I will simply eliminate him and remove that threat from the equation."

"What if I could save you the time?" Rukia asked abruptly.

No one said anything for several seconds as her implication sank in.

"Would you be able to fight your ally?" Silas asked, breaking the palpable silence. "Your friend? Potentially kill him if he cannot subdue this destructive spirit as you say he can?"

Rukia merely nodded her head. A hazy shroud of disbelief gripped her senses and muddled her thoughts. This was almost certainly a betrayal. She did not truly believe in Ichigo's ability to fully control his spirit. Would she even be here to ask for help if she did?

"Very well," Mathis said. Everyone snapped their gazes on him in surprise, but said nothing.

He brusquely swept past Rukia and commanded, "Follow me."

As he strode towards the door, he issued orders to Silas and Kale. "Prepare my translocator and set destination for the Rift. I am not to be disturbed until I return. Continue making preparations for Operation Thunder."

"You got it," Kale said, throwing a lazy salute and relaying the instructions via radio to a technician. Silas merely nodded and continued to tap locations on the map he and Kale had been poring over earlier.

Sarah, who had been sitting at the side for the entire time after healing Ichigo, leapt to her feet and cheerily said, "I'll go with you!" When Mathis turned his withering gaze on her with a questioning look in his eye, she added, "Just in case you need any help!"

He stared at her motionlessly before turning and striding out the door. Sarah smiled at Rukia and followed Mathis out of the room, as did Rukia. She couldn't help but notice the slight melancholy glaze in the little girl's eyes, and wondered what was on her mind.

A few seconds later, Rukia saw a lone translocation pad come into view as they rounded a corner, and wondered what this one was doing on its own here.

Mathis set his palm on a scanner and waited as the machine verified his identity. Rukia could only surmise that this pad was for Mathis's personal use, but wondered what Mathis did that in the alternate plane that necessitated a pad set aside exclusively for him.

The glass parted to allow the three access to the pad, and Mathis opened a closet and removed a heavy, battered cloak, throwing it over his shoulders and fastening the clasps to seal the front. Once he was finished he grabbed two of the remaining cloaks and held them out towards Sarah and Rukia. Sarah took the garment and did as Mathis did, and Rukia followed suit, though she had a harder time figuring out which clasp went where.

With Sarah's assistance, Rukia finished and stepped into the pad chamber with Mathis and Sarah. The glass doors slid shut once again, and Mathis commanded, "Begin."

"_Destination set for the Rift. See you in a few days, sir," _an unknown technician said over an intercom.

"A few days?" Rukia asked. Weren't they preparing to leave the following night?

"You will see," Mathis replied tersely.

Rukia didn't even have the opportunity to ask as the all-too-familiar tingling began at her feet and zipped up to her head, culminating in a strong electric crackle that consumed the three of them and caused them to snap out of existence, leaving nothing but their outlines in the chamber.


	11. The Realm of Creation

**All I can say for this chapter is that I'm excited for where it is leading up to. I hope you share my excitement. Next chapter will be very long, so brace yourselves!**

**Also, I've changed the story back to T rating because it seemed to me that the content didn't really merit M (even that scene a few chapters back).**

**Mood Music: E.S. Posthumus - Ebla**

**Chapter 11: The Realm of Creation**

A cloud of sand immediately began to scour the three the moment they appeared in the alternate plane. Rukia was hit the hardest, as this was only the second time she'd been through the portal, and her first time had only required her to stand in the sandstorm for a few seconds. The cloaks Mathis had given them indicated that they were going to be out in the storm for longer than just a moment, eliciting from her a huff of anticipatory preparation. She steeled herself and set out from the pad behind the Jericho siblings, with Mathis's tall frame in the lead and Sarah's close behind, as though she were using him to partially shield herself from the biting sand particles.

They traveled in relative silence, trudging through the sands with steady purpose. A chasm on their left drew Rukia's attention for a moment, and she now saw the problem Kale had been discussing with herself and Ichigo only a few hours ago. The gap was several hundred feet across, and stretched down into darkness as far as she could see. There were no endpoints of the chasm either; it simply ran into the distance on either end until the sand blotted it out from view. Rukia saw what looked like a large bunker with guard towers placed in strategic locations around it on the other side of the chasm and assumed that it was another Underworld base.

As the base faded from view, Rukia noticed a rocky incline in the distance that gently sloped into the chasm before abruptly shooting down at an almost perfectly vertical drop.

Mathis stopped next to the incline and turned to both of the girls.

"Our destination is at the bottom of this canyon. There is only one way down," he growled through the Wasteland winds.

With that, he leapt into the chasm and disappeared into the darkness.

Both Sarah and Rukia were stunned by Mathis's sudden jump, and looked at each other expectantly, as if the other would suddenly muster up some hidden reserve of courage and leap first.

Rukia's militaristic drive kicked in once again, motivating her to take a deep breath in preparation. While jumping into a dark, deep canyon didn't seem tactically sound, especially with an incredibly powerful, anti-Rukia individual like Mathis waiting at the bottom, she couldn't keep thinking of herself. _This is for Ichigo's sake_, she reassured herself. With that, she jumped.

The air whipped around her as she hurtled downwards. She couldn't even see the bottom, which worried her. She needed to prepare to slow her descent; otherwise she'd smash into the ground at dangerous speed.

As she thought this, however, she felt her velocity decrease, and noticed wisps of…_something_ slithering through the air. The few that were in her path bent slightly as she continued to float downwards, catching her like strings before breaking and re-forming above her.

She stumbled as she hit the ground, which she had not been able to see as she fell. The tendrils from before wiggled through the air all around her and glowed a dull white, but did not emit enough light for her to take in her surroundings.

She was about to summon the ball of light again when a pulse of energy resonated in the darkness. The wisps began to glow much brighter, and as the light they emitted intensified, they began to open up holes in the darkness, revealing a cavern that was so large that it played havoc with Rukia's depth perception.

She looked up and saw a crack in the ceiling, and realized that that must have been where she'd fallen. A small dot appeared and grew larger as whatever the object was fell, and Rukia realized it was Sarah when she heard the squealing. She moved to catch her, but Mathis had already appeared next to the little girl in midair. He buzzed out of sight and landed on the ground next to Rukia, putting Sarah on her feet. The little girl pouted and said, "You could've told us we had to jump!"

Mathis chose not to reply and turned to Rukia. There was still a bit of disgust in his expression, but Rukia noticed that his demeanor towards her had considerably improved. Relatively speaking.

"This is the Rift," he said, nodding toward the vast expanses of the cave, "a cave in the Wasteland that I use to train myself and some of the Underworld's subordinates."

He strode off and said, "Make yourselves comfortable; we will be here for a while."

"Don't we leave for Europe tomorrow?" Rukia called after him. "How will we be here for a while? Even the technician on the radio said something about a few days."

Mathis responded without turning, "There is a time dilation effect in this chamber."

Without even deigning to explain the details of this dilation, he disappeared.

Rukia sighed and turned to face Sarah, who shrugged in exasperation.

"Is he always like this?" Rukia asked. "If you don't mind me asking," she added hurriedly as Sarah's expression fell slightly.

"He wasn't always like this," she said with a sad little smile. "But I can't remember much about him when he was different. I was too young."

"Did something happen?" Rukia probed further.

A long, silent pause followed. Then, without warning, a massive jolt of electricity coursed through her body and she fell to her hands and knees, gasping for breath. Mathis murmured from behind her, "I would advise that you stay out of our past."

"Matty!" Sarah yelled, crouching by Rukia and helping her up. "That was mean! Just because she was asking a question—."

"You wouldn't understand, Sarah."

"Understand what?" Sarah replied angrily..

"There is a reason you cannot remember," he growled.

Sarah said nothing, but the anger on her face had changed to confusion, and though Rukia wanted so badly to know what Mathis's cryptic statement had meant, the pain of the recent discharge of electricity was enough to deter her.

"Leave us. We have work to do," he said to Sarah, who gave a loud hmph! and strode off in the distance.

"You and I will begin now, so as to prevent any more unnecessary confrontations between us," he said, stepping in front of her and crossing his arms.

"You have five minutes to inflict some form of damage on me using any of your spells."

Any other person would have received a look of shock and confusion in response to such an outlandish command, but not Mathis. There was no doubt in the petite Shinigami's mind that Mathis had some greater purpose for this exercise that she could not see, a fact that she grudgingly accepted. Rukia took no time in raising her hand and firing a ball of reiatsu at Mathis, who had just finished murmuring something under his breath. The explosion roiled in the air for a moment before it fizzed out and disappeared. A bluish haze surrounded Mathis, and disappeared after a couple of seconds. Rukia narrowed her eyes. He was still in the same position as before, so she knew he wasn't doing anything the instant her kido hit him.

Or was he?

She fired another pair of reiatsu bolts at him and immediately flash-stepped behind him to make sure he was doing nothing. For good measure she loosed another blast at his back and stepped back to watch carefully. Once again the explosions fizzed out and simply winked out of existence, leaving Mathis unscathed in the midst of several soot stains on the cave floor, back turned towards her.

"Surely you have more than that," he said carelessly over his shoulder.

Rukia gritted her teeth and chanted under her breath, streamers of blue light coursing through the air around her and attaching to her outstretched right hand. With a cry she finished the mantra, "Way of Destruction #63: Soren Soukatsui!"

A wave of blue light blasted forth from her hand and crashed into Mathis, whose figure became obscured by the intense light. For several seconds the torrent of reiatsu persisted, before petering out and fading into wisps. Rukia slumped and let one knee hit the ground, panting as she tried to keep up with the sudden drain in energy. She'd gone overboard with that last kido; Soren Soukatsui did not normally require so much reiatsu but Rukia had forced the kido to sustain itself for much longer than usual, which did require a considerably greater amount of power.

She looked up and saw, with incredible confusion, the blue haze again. Mathis stood unscathed, still facing away from her.

"Is that all?" his voice came after 30 seconds passed. Rukia panted and grudgingly replied, "Yes."

Mathis turned and pointed a bandaged palm at Rukia, who reflexively flinched. A loud _bang_ resounded through the air, and a bolt of dark blue light raced towards Rukia. Upon impact, Rukia was pulled to her feet by an unknown force. She gasped for breath and patted herself to see if she'd sustained any injury. Upon finding none and feeling strangely energetic, she looked up at Mathis questioningly.

"I've returned to you the energy you expended," he said brusquely. "It left much to be desired, considering you didn't even make it past the two minute mark."

He bent his knees slightly, prompting Rukia to put a hand on her Zanpakuto's hilt. "Now. You have two minutes to defend yourself against my attack. Use as many spells as you wish."

When the last word left his lips, another blue light began to coalesce at his hands. He remained frozen where he was, eyes trained on Rukia, waiting for two minutes to elapse.

Reenergized, Rukia calmed herself and began reciting the mantra to her strongest barrier kido. Once that was finished, she began another mantra with a secondary mantra simultaneously, concentrating to make sure the spells were properly executed. All the while she saw the blue light in Mathis's hand grow bigger and brighter, and heard a distinct thrum that pulsed through the air like a heartbeat.

She continued weaving the reiatsu together into various walls and cages around herself, and had just finished her sixth kido when she heard Mathis speak.

"Time's up."

He flattened his hand into a palm pointing downwards and pivoted on one leg. As he rotated, his upper body tensed and when he was facing Rukia again, he whipped the orb in his palm through the air with a diagonal swipe. The ball of light rocketed through the air at blinding speed, and Rukia gritted her teeth in anticipation for the coming unavoidable explosion.

And come it did. The blast broke through four of the barriers she'd managed to put up, but two shields remained intact between Mathis and Rukia. She relaxed her shoulders, surprised at the survival of her full defense. The explosion had not been as destructive as she'd anticipated.

"Surprised?" Mathis asked, slowly striding forward.

"What did you do?" Rukia asked warily.

"Hm."

Mathis continued walking forward silently until he finally reached Rukia. He flicked the air in front of him and the two remaining barriers shattered, leaving nothing between the two. Rukia's eyes narrowed. There was something deliberate about his motion. As if he was trying to tell her something. And then it hit her.

"You weren't holding back. You just hit me with the amount of power that I hit you with," she murmured.

"Close," he grunted, turning to a side and walking again. He jerked his head, and Rukia followed.

"The attack I sent at you just now was only half of what you sent at me," he said flatly, "and yet it was enough to crack through a majority of your defense."

"When I said ranged combat like your spellcraft invites disaster on a battlefield with the Legions, this is what I meant. Fighters like you tend to have a stronger offense than defense. You put everything you have learned into pure attack, to the point where you can't defend if you've been cornered. You count on distance and timing to fight."

Rukia was somewhat confused. "What's your point?"

Mathis stopped walking and whispered, "Memory, Recall."

At once, Rukia was engulfed in swarms of Minors and humans clawing and slashing at each other. She panicked for a moment and was ready to draw her weapon and join the fight when Mathis's hand grasped her shoulder tightly. She looked at him and saw that he was staring into the distance.

On a cliff a small knot of men fired weapons into the horde of demons, while others launched fireballs and bolts of electricity into the fray. As they rained down destruction from above, Rukia saw a group of Minors and Raiders crawl up the side of the cliff, catching the attention of the group at its apex. They redirected their fire to the approaching demons, sending dozens of them plummeting to the ground, dead. For a moment it seemed like they would be successful in fending off the attackers when a pair of Specters flashed into visible existence in their midst. A cry of alarm resounded from the men, who scattered in order to keep from ripping each other apart via friendly fire.

From her vantage point Rukia watched as the men were quickly overrun by the two Specters. Surviving stragglers were then mauled by the Minors and Raiders that had managed to finally reach the clifftop.

"Those men were proficient fighters," Mathis said coldly. "They assured me that they would be able to handle themselves. But the Legions do not stop once they set their minds to something, and war is not as straightforward as a duel. In war, chaos is king, and in chaos, tactics do not translate so easily from paper to reality. Those men were guarded by able-bodied warriors at the foot of the cliff, but they were preoccupied in holding off a group of Specters and were consequently unable to come to the aid of the slaughtered men."

The memory faded into black, and the cavern became visible to Rukia again, who turned to Mathis in time to see his jaw clench.

"And now you tell me," he growled, turning his steely gaze on her, "that your ally is a potential threat? You ask me to prepare someone like you against him? Even in his normal state I have no doubt that he would overwhelm you in moments."

"That's why I asked you for help," Rukia replied. "You've bested both of us in combat. You must be able to teach me something."

"I am not suited for teaching of any sort," he said ominously. He turned and stepped away.

"That does not mean, however, that you will not learn anything here."

Rukia's sixth sense blew so many alarm bells in her head that she reacted almost instantaneously to Mathis's sudden attack. Her Zanpakuto shook as Mathis rained blow after blow upon her from range. He was moving so quickly that she was having a hard time identifying just what the hell he was hitting her with. She caught flashes of some long, slender weapon, but couldn't make out any details.

After several seconds of frantic defense, she leapt up into the air and released Sode no Shirayuki, preparing to cast her First Dance. Mathis glared up at her from directly below her, making no move to evade the incoming attack.

"I've already seen that before," Mathis growled in the distance. He whipped his arms through the air and grabbed the Zanpakuto with his weapon, bringing her back down to ground level with a deafening slam.

Rukia steadied herself on her feet and felt a tug on her Zanpakuto. It took all she had to keep herself from letting Sode no Shirayuki from flying from her grasp. When the smoke cleared, she saw at last what Mathis was wielding.

A set of dark silver chains was coiled around Sode no Shirayuki, leading back to both of Mathis's bandaged arms. She saw that the chains were originating from the bandaging themselves, turning from cloth to metal a few inches away from their source. Rukia saw that each chain link was bladed on its lateral edges, the pattern repeating throughout the whole chain and only occasionally disrupted by a single diamond-shaped link with long spines jutting from its sides. At the end of both chains was what looked like a spear-blade with razor-sharp edges.

Her observation was cut short as Mathis tore the chains through the air, sending Rukia flying and slamming her into one of the pillars. She fell to the cavern floor on her feet and stumbled to regain her balance. She took up a defensive stance and looked up to find Mathis only to find that he had vanished.

"You move like a slug," he whispered in her ear. Rukia swung her blade at him, only to find herself on the ground, Zanpakuto lying several feet away from her. She hadn't even felt the hit.

"Truly, you are not suited for melee combat," he murmured, stepping over her and grasping the white sword by the blade. He examined it for several moments before tossing it back at Rukia unceremoniously. "It seems you will have to combine your spellcraft with swordplay to have a chance at surviving a battle with the Legions, let alone against Kurosaki Ichigo should this malevolent spirit of his act up."

Rukia saw out of the corner of her eye a familiar blue light and felt energy flood her limbs again. Re-energized, she tightly gripped her Zanpakuto and rose to her feet. "And how do you suggest I do that? Our kido is _not_ suited for what you're suggesting."

Mathis said nothing for a moment. Then he spoke.

"Volt, channel."

A spark of blue flickered in one of Mathis's hands before disappearing. He then grasped Rukia's Zanpakuto with the same hand, and Rukia felt a slight buzz course through the weapon and into her body.

"Electricity," she breathed.

"Correct," Mathis said, releasing the white blade and flicking his hand open. A ball of bluish white electricity hummed in the palm of his hand, glowing slightly under its own power.

"You use power derived from your own energy. You can only use so much before you are unable to continue fighting, which is inefficient and potentially dangerous."

"You must have realized by now that our ability to harness the elements is different from your kido. Our abilities allow us to channel our power into our weapons," he said, severing his chains from the bandages. The bandages slowly re-adhered to his arms, and the cloth that remained on the chains slowly morphed into the metal. He flourished the metal weapon before slamming one end into the ground. A loud _thunk_ reverberated throughout the cavern, and Rukia now saw the chain had become denser, the links more tightly packed next to one another. Their bladed edges were now normal, and the diamond links had lost their spines and unique shape, blending into the series of normal chain links. The fluid chain had become a staff, with a thin, ornate spear-tip that gleamed with a frightening light.

"Corruption, discharge."

The spear began to bristle with black sparks, and the spear-tip snapped and hissed as black electricity enveloped it. Mathis grasped the spear and swung it against the ground with great force. The spear-tip sliced into the earth with little resistance, and caused huge arcs of electricity to course out of the point of impact. Rukia narrowly dodged one of the arcs and heard it fizzle out against a pillar behind her.

"Like so."

He left the staff quivering in the ground, sparks still playing about the chain links and its point of incision.

"You are confused," he said matter-of-factly. "This is understandable and unsurprising. I would be equally lost were I approached by one of your instructors and taught your way of combat."

"While you draw power from your body to fuel your spells, we draw our power and the elements directly from what we call the Realms. The Realms are strange dimensions in which there is no end to anything. All entities that exist in the Realms, called Aspects, are limitless, and it is postulated that the Creator Himself drew from the Realms to create the universe."

"Creator?" Rukia asked. "You mean the Soul King?"

"He has many names," Mathis replied plainly. He produced from his pocket a chain necklace with a small, circular pendant dangling from it. Within its hollowed center was a crystal clear jewel, which was somehow suspended in the pendant without any visible support.

"It is time to discern if you are capable of reaching into the other plane." With a flick of his hand he sent the pendant flying in her direction, and she caught it deftly with her free hand. The pendant felt strangely cool to her touch, and the clear orb seemed to wink at her in the light of the cavern.

"Hold the pendant up in front of you and stay where you are," he commanded, blurring out of existence and reappearing several meters back. He began to mutter under his breath, summoning forth wisps of what looked like black flame. The material coalesced in his right palm but did not maintain their fiery consistency. As more wisps latched themselves onto the orb and merged with it, the black energy flickered like fire before solidifying into a solid black sphere of what looked like polished onyx. It then shattered into millions of particles that reassumed the consistency of the original material, which was now buzzing and hissing like it were electricity. The shape-shifting continued as Mathis's incantation came to an end, prompting Rukia to take a step back. Despite the improvements in his attitude towards her, she was still anxious about taking a direct hit from him, no matter what the circumstances.

"It is imperative you do not move," Mathis intoned from a distance. With that he raised his hand in front of him, mirroring Rukia's stance. Unbidden, the constantly shifting orb rocketed forward towards Rukia at alarming speed. She steeled herself and planted her feet firmly into the ground.

Just as the orb was about to strike her, the pendant in her outstretched hand suddenly roared to life and responded to the attack with its own show of force. A torrent of water billowed out of the pendant and met the shape-shifting orb head-on, causing clouds of steam to rush out in every direction from the point of contact. The steam obscured Rukia's vision, forcing her to squint to observe what was happening.

It was over as quickly as it had begun; the water ceased its flow from the pendant, and the orb that had only seconds ago been barreling towards her at full force now floated harmlessly in the air, form still changing from one to another. Mathis appeared next to the orb and grasped it. The orb dissipated and seeped into Mathis's bandaged hand. He nodded and looked to Rukia with the customary glint in his eye.

"Creation."

Rukia did not respond, mystification clear in her expression.

Mathis took the pendant from her and let it hang in front of her perplexed face. The clear orb was no longer clear; it was now a deep blue and twinkled as though it contained water. "You are linked to the Realm of Creation, and your affinity lies with the Aspect of Water."

With the pendant in one hand, he boomed, "Mass, flow."

A small rivulet of water coursed down his free hand and snaked its way into the air. Mathis twiddled his fingers and the water left his hand entirely to form a large sphere. The surface wavered with ripples, but the sphere itself maintained its shape.

"Water," Rukia murmured, tracing a line in the sphere and watching as the ripples formed by the motion caused the liquid orb to undulate. "How do I use this pendant? More importantly," she said, cutting across her first question, "what exactly is it?"

The water unraveled from its spherical formation and began to flow through the air like a river. "The pendant is what we call a Wildcard." The water slithered into a ring formation and spun lazily, occasionally causing drops to fly off momentarily before they rejoined the ring. "There are only three known ways to draw power from the Realms, and one of them is to bridge the gap between dimensions using an artifact. Artifacts can only siphon power from one Realm, and often cannot sustain power beyond a certain level."

"Wildcards, however, are artifacts that, while still limited to a certain number of Aspects, are able to draw infinite amounts of their Aspects from their respective Realms and manipulate them without limit, provided that the owner is able to sustain the same amount of energy and control. A Wildcard will constantly adjust to its owner's capabilities, ranging from pathetically weak to monumentally powerful."

"Which leads me to your initial question," he rumbled. "How do you control the Wildcard, indeed?"

"You will have noticed that I speak certain words before I draw from the Realms, as I did just now to bring forth this water. Recreate this phenomenon," he said, nodding towards the serpentine stream of water, "and show me when you are ready."

He tossed the pendant to her. The moment the necklace left his hand, the water fell from the air and splashed on the ground. Mathis lingered for a moment, eye trained on the puddles on the cavern ground, before looking back up at Rukia and blinking out of sight.

"_Mass, flow."_

Rukia remembered the words vaguely and decided it was a good point to start from. She had no idea how Mathis expected her to be able to control this power from the get-go, but she was unwilling to ask for help.

"Mass, flow!" she cried out, palm thrust forward as though she were using kido.

Almost immediately she became fatigued and dropped to a knee. A sphere of water hovered in front of her, but wavered and looked as though it would fall apart at any moment. Her concentration finally broke and she collapsed to the floor, panting for breath and wincing as each small movement she made sent a shooting pain through her skull. The unsteady sphere of water similarly crashed to the ground, splattering her with cool water. The dip in temperature on her skin was a welcome, albeit short-lived, reprieve from the burning headache.

The last thing she heard as she faded out of consciousness was the sound of quick footfalls, Sarah's worried mumblings, and Mathis's voice, rumbling with barely contained irritation:

"Predictable."

* * *

When Rukia came to, she no longer felt pain, but became aware of an incredible fatigue and dryness in her throat. A large globule of water hovered in the air in front of her, and she slowly reached for it and tried to drink it up somehow, but found that she could not move her body enough to raise her lips to it.

She heard Sarah's concerned voice and felt a light hand rest on her shoulder. "Don't move! Let me."

She coaxed the sphere of water to elongate, sending a tuber of liquid down to Rukia. She drank deeply from the sphere as though she were using a straw, and felt the pain in her head recede.

When she drank in all of the water, she sat up and felt strength return to her limbs. She was made aware of a fairly large tent with two bedspreads and various little pieces of furniture. A chair and desk at the end of the tent coupled with the lampstand and washbowl gave the tent a homey feel, though it was still jarring to see the reddish-brown cave floor against the blue fabrics.

"Is it so difficult that I can't even do it without knocking myself out yet?" Rukia asked Sarah, massaging her arms and legs to help them regain mobility faster.

"Well, if you do it the way you tried before you won't get very far," Sarah sighed. "You drew the water from inside your body by force, so you ended up dangerously dehydrated."

"I had no intention of doing something like that!" Rukia exclaimed. "How did it decide where to take the water from on its own?"

"It is due to your own training," Mathis's voice rumbled from behind her. She turned and saw him standing in the tent's open flap, arms crossed and expression stony. "You have been trained to draw power from within, so you naturally attempted to do the same this time around."

"You didn't warn me," Rukia said, almost accusatively.

"I did not expect you to do something so foolish. In addition, it would have been much more effective for you to feel the effects firsthand." With that he turned and strode back out into the cavern. "We will resume in an hour. Any further stress will cause permanent damage to your spiritual form," he called behind him.

The tent was suddenly dead quiet. Rukia looked back at Sarah and saw again upon her face an expression of longing and sadness.

"Sarah," she asked tentatively. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she responded quickly. She began fumbling with her hands and shuffling her feet underneath her.

Every shred of maternal instinct within Rukia screamed at her to continue pressing her for an answer, because Sarah's countenance and fiddling was not normal for someone her age or personality, nor was Mathis's overall demeanor. She wanted to help them both, but instead…

"If you don't feel comfortable sharing, it's ok," Rukia said. "I just hope whatever is on your mind comes to pass."

It was all she could do without overstepping her bounds, which Rukia found infuriating. But Sarah must have taken heart from her statement because she looked up at her and smiled. The sadness in her eyes was still there, but they were accompanied by hopefulness.

"Thanks, miss."

"Call me Rukia."

* * *

An hour turned into several. Several hours turned into days, and each day yielded little fruit. Mathis often sparred with Rukia, though no passerby would ever deign to label them as spars. These training matches usually involved Mathis beating Rukia up and down the cavern, leaving her a trembling heap of fatigue whenever they finished.

She was, however, able to master the summoning of water from the Realm of Creation. Once she summoned the water she was able to use her Zanpakuto to turn the water into a defensive (albeit weak) shield of ice. Once she'd figured out that particular maneuver, she began to mix the two powers up so that her arsenal in battle would be much more varied. Soon enough she'd learned how to meld both Realmcraft and swordplay while fighting, sending streams of high-pressure water toward a target with one hand while preparing a hail of icy needles with her sword. She found that the Realmcraft really did complement Sode no Shirayuki's abilities, augmenting her fighting strength.

But no matter how good her ability to manipulate water and ice was, she couldn't seem to change the fact that she wasn't nearly as proficient in wielding her steel. In every spell-free spar she'd fought against Mathis, she'd been severely injured, overwhelmed by his inhuman power.

At first she'd suspected his weaponry. The chains he wielded were long and quick, something she was unfamiliar with. Even though she'd had training sessions with Renji, she had had no idea what to do; trying to compare Renji's unwieldy Zanpakuto with Mathis's chains was like comparing a unicycle to a bullet train. Not only did his weapons hit harder, but they moved infinitely faster, forcing Rukia on the complete defensive.

She'd also discovered that he was proficient at all ranges with these weapons. She had attempted to bull-rush him so that he wouldn't have the space to wield either the chain form or spear form of the weapons, but when she'd tackled him, the chains had coiled around both of them tightly, cutting into her skin while leaving Mathis seemingly unscathed. The large spear-tips had reared up like snakes, and her memory of everything afterward remained a reddish haze. She'd woken up feeling like someone had stomped on her chest, and had heard Sarah yelling at Mathis, who'd simply stared over her head without shame.

Even when she pulled back to use kido, his chains elongated to find her, not matter how far she moved. She'd attempted to use Soren Soukatsui at one point when one of the chains had jolted forward and run her through her right shoulder, pinning her to the ground.

As for the pain, Rukia was beginning to crack. Sarah made all the injuries go away, along with the accompanying pain, but the instances of agony that Mathis consistently subjected her to were unbearable, and their repetition only aggravated her mental exhaustion.

Then came the final night. Upon finishing her final spar with Mathis (which ended in her utter defeat once again), he had re-coiled his chains into the bandages on his arms and said, "I have done what I can."

Rukia bit back bitter words. His statement had had a ring of disappointment about it, and though Rukia appreciated his help, she couldn't help but feel bitter about his derisive downplay of her progress during the past few days. She knew her swordplay had not significantly increased on its own, but she felt that if her use of kido and Realmcraft were mixed in with her close-quarters combat, she'd stand a much better chance.

She voiced this opinion to Mathis, who said nothing and merely snorted. He blinked out of sight, leaving a Rukia somewhat irked and alone.

It must have been night-time in the real world, because when Rukia got back to the tent she and Sarah slept in, the little girl was sound asleep, cute face curled up in a smile. _She must be having a good dream_, Rukia thought to herself.

When she sat down the idea hit her for about the fifteenth time in so long. In her covers the book given to her by the Weavers, Clarity, gleamed with an almost eager, cheerful light, and Rukia was reminded of its function._ I can ask three questions about anyone and I'll learn the answer. _For the past few nights she had become obsessed with the idea of using the book to learn more about Mathis and Sarah's pasts.

She opened the heavy tome, and was once again greeted by its empty pages. She'd cracked it open a couple of times before, but there had been nothing inside, no instructions on how to use it, and no chance to put her grand plan into action.

She flipped the pages absent-mindedly and wondered what Mathis had been like when he wasn't so cold and distant when a strong breeze rustled the pages and flipped them all the way up to the front cover of the book. Rukia had no time to react as the page glowed brightly and suddenly enveloped her in blinding light.

When the light faded, the tome slammed shut, with Rukia nowhere to be seen.


	12. Wrath

**Hey guys! I just wanted to thank everyone that's followed up until now, and a big thank you to those who've dropped a review, even if it was just to say how much you enjoyed reading the story. As always, all criticism is welcome, whether it's directed towards possible mistakes in Bleach canon or to the general writing style.  
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**I now present to you a much darker chapter than its predecessors, and rightly so. This chapter was something that was envisioned in pre-production, and is pivotal to the plot. It was very difficult to write but incredibly fulfilling to finally see this moment in the story realized and fleshed out. Without further ado, I present to you Chapter 12!  
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**Mood Music:  
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**Shiro Sagisu - Going Home  
**

**Shiro Sagisu - Never Meant to Belong  
**

**Hans Zimmer - Watch the World Burn  
**

**Chapter 12: Wrath**

If there was one thing Rukia hated, it was surprises.

One moment she'd been in the tent with Clarity in her lap, the next, tumbling in the dark and landing with an unceremonious thump on her back on some fantastically uncomfortable gravel. For a moment she lay there, shocked at what had just happened and still attempting to process everything, and grunted as a small object landed on her stomach. She rolled over and pushed herself up to her feet, still disoriented by her fall. The object turned out to be Clarity. It was significantly smaller and more compact than it was before, and, upon opening the book to its first page, it was not as empty as its larger self was either. A single word was embossed in the top of the first page:

_Before._

She wondered what that meant, and flipped through the rest of the book in search of some kind of explanation. But, as she'd expected, the pages were still completely blank. Frustrated, she closed the book and made to toss it away, but thought better of it and took in her surroundings.

A large manor dominated most of her field of vision, and it turned out she'd landed in the gravelly driveway in the front yard. The dimming light of the sun yellowed the sky, casting glaring pools of light across the manor and its lavish grounds. Somewhere in the distance she heard a car, and the crunching of gravel at the entrance of the manor-grounds told her that someone had arrived.

She hurried off the road and hid by a bush, watching as a sleek automobile advanced across the rough gravel road. As it made its way up the incline, Rukia caught a glimpse of the license plate and saw that there were foreign symbols or letters inscribed on the metal. She advanced up alongside the driveway, catching up with the vehicle and keeping pace with it as it approached the manor's garage.

There were four people in the car; two adults and two sleeping children. The adults, she assumed, were the parents of the two children in the car, as they bore striking resemblances to each other. The father was a handsome, familiar-looking man, with unkempt brown hair and a set of striking blue eyes. The woman was just as attractive as her partner, and had dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a kind smile that crinkled her eyes just a bit.

The father's eyes drew Rukia's attention, reminding her eerily of—.

"Matty, Sarah, what would you like for dinner?" the mother asked as she got out of the parked car.

_Matty. Mathis._

She turned and half-expected Mathis to be standing off to the side somewhere, expression surly and as unresponsive as ever. But to her utmost shock, a small voice brimming with energy responded, "PIZZA!"

It surprised Rukia that they were speaking in Japanese, but it astonished her further to turn back and see the origin of the voice: the young boy in the car.

…_Mathis?_

Rukia had never imagined Mathis as a child to be so energetic and lively. She had fully expected him to be an avoidant child, a delinquent that needed constant reprimand and discipline by his parents and guardians. But this little boy seemed to fit Sarah's vague description of Mathis with every passing second and the more Rukia thought about it. _"He wasn't always like this."_ The boy that bounded up the manor steps seemed nothing like the Mathis she knew, and she realized with an electric jolt the meaning of the word in Clarity.

_Before._

_I'm in his past. In a memory. They're not speaking Japanese. I can just understand what was said then._

She stepped forward confidently, now armed with the knowledge that they wouldn't see her no matter what she did. She followed the boy up the steps and into the manor, gasping at the vastness of the interior. It looked even bigger inside than it did from outside. A grand chandelier cast a soft, bright glow on the dark wood paneling of the walls. White tiling shone like silver under the chandelier's light, giving Rukia the impression of walking on a bed of crystals. She'd never been in a Western-style mansion before, but now that she had, she wasn't sure she'd ever be impressed by anything else.

"We had that yesterday, kiddo," came the voice of what was ostensibly the father. "How about that nice old man's pasta? You like that, don't you?"

And again came Mathis's youthful, boisterous voice. "I forgot about him! Yes, yes, YES!"

Rukia rounded the corner and witnessed a living room that could probably have sheltered at least 50 of her Shinigami peers without a problem. The wide space was not wasted; decorative furniture and paintings covered the room, and an intricately woven tapestry caressed her feet. Even though she'd never been to such a house, least of all Mathis's, she felt instantly at home. It wasn't the furnishings of the room so much as it was the aura of its inhabitants. Sarah, who had finally broken out of her groggy stupor, was playing with Mathis on some kind of board game Rukia couldn't recognize, and she and Mathis would shout at each other in excitement or dismay whenever they rolled their turns. As they did so, their parents heartily encouraged them, even playing with them at certain points.

An elderly man dressed in a plaid sweater and khakis came over a little while later, holding a tray with plates, silverware, and a large covered platter in its center. He called the children over to the table and set the silverware out, handing the plates to the children and handing them a large spoon of some sort, all while chatting with them in a friendly manner. Mathis and Sarah shoveled the pasta in their mouths as they talked to the old man, who seemed to be telling them stories. Long after they'd finished eating, they sat, listening raptly and posing questions every once in a while.

While their children listened intently to the old man's stories, their parents sat together by the fireplace, hands entwined and watching the flames lick the sides of the hearth. They whispered to one another a conversation that Rukia could not hear, though she could see and hear them laughing softly in response to the other's remarks.

This was paradise, Rukia thought to herself. But in the back of her mind, she juxtaposed the current Mathis and the young child that was listening to the old man's story with his mouth half-open and knew that there was something she was missing. Something dreadful that would change Mathis forever and depress the normally jubilant Sarah.

As she came to this conclusion, the room swirled around her, forming haze through which she couldn't see, before resolving into what looked like a forge.

She assumed she was still in the house, because even the forge was exorbitantly furnished. Several work stations were planted around the room, and a column of anvils dominated the right side of the forge room. In the walls beside them were furnaces, burning whiter than Rukia thought possible, and by the foot of the anvils were water basins. Hammers were lined up on the wall behind Rukia, ranging in sizes small to enormous, and above their rack were a variety of other tools, some of which Rukia had never seen before.

At the very end of the room by one of the anvils was Mathis's father, who was dressed in a smith's apron and thick, heavy pants. His shoulders glistened with sweat, and he grunted as he pounded at a bar on the anvil relentlessly, sending jarring _clang_s through the cavernous room.

To Rukia's surprise, Mathis stood close by, watching his father work. What was surprising was Mathis too was clad in a black apron, and that it seemed to match his size, as though it were custom-tailored to fit him. In one hand he held a hammer, appropriate for his frame, and in the other he held a bar of metal that looked like the one his father was working on.

The elder Jericho straightened, gesturing to the cherry-red metal. "When the metal looks like this, you can stop shaping it and dunk it in the water basin to cool." A loud hissing punctuated his words, and steam rose like smoke from the trough as the metal faded into a dark grey.

"And that's where I'll stop today," the man said, prompting Mathis himself to run to an anvil and stick the bar of metal into its appropriate furnace. It was alarming to see someone so young working in such a conflagratory environment, and with such certitude. When he pulled the bar out of the blast furnace, he laid it on the anvil and struck it repeatedly. Each blow was a mirror image of his father's, and sure enough the shape of the rod began to resemble the angular form of the metal the elder Jericho had been working on.

"Well done," said the man, patting Mathis on the head as he dipped the metal rod into the water basin.. "Just make sure you don't overswing by the end, otherwise the metal will be dented. Start with strong strokes and end with lighter taps, ok?"

"Kay!" the little boy responded vigorously.

Rukia smiled. To think that Mathis had been a child just like everyone else was unimaginable, but here she was, witnessing it with her own two eyes.

The forge dissolved, leaving Rukia in a slate grey room with no doors or windows. She looked around in confusion, searching for any kind of opening, when she felt Clarity exude warmth. She opened the book and saw that below the single embossment she'd found before were words and pictures. There was little organization to the words, and the pictures looked like children's drawings.

"_Today Daddy taught me how to make a support brace! I dunno how it works but it's really cool!"_

"_I got into a fight with another boy at school today. I beat him, but Daddy wouldn't let me leave until I apologized."_

"_Mommy went with me to pick apples at our field trip today!"_

It took her a few moments to put two and two together and realize that the words were bits and pieces of what Mathis had experienced, and the pictures moments that Mathis treasured. Any time she touched one of them she was thrust into another vision of Mathis's past, and experienced more of Mathis's childish joy. She laughed with his mother when a bee flew around him out of curiosity, causing him to panic and run away shouting. She smiled when she saw him back in the forge, sweaty and filthy but proud of his somewhat twisted metal contraption. She nodded her approval when he walked up to a larger boy covered in small scuffs and bruises and clearly enunciated, "I'm sorry."

Whenever she watched these memories unfold around her, the book would erase its contents and show what Mathis was thinking at the time in a child's scrawl, showing Rukia his moments of pride and joy as well as his embarrassment and reluctance.

From what she gathered, Mathis's father was a very powerful individual; his name would often crop up on the television when he or his wife was watching the news. Despite being famous, however, he seemed to care little about the titles he'd accumulated over the years and the attention Jericho Tech Labs received from the media and news teams. He poured out so much of his attention on his children that it was hard to imagine that he was actually a CEO of a company that worked around the clock.

She would occasionally see him in a working scenario at home, in an office where books, stacks of paper and cups of half-finished coffee sat around in disorganized piles. Several chalk boards and projector screens stood in the room, and more than once she'd seen him from Mathis's vantage point talking to other people via conference call and working together with them on complex equations and convoluted blueprints.

She bore witness to countless experiences; a school play, a standardized test, a seventh birthday, and so much more. He was so endearing, his thoughts so pure and somewhat naïve, that the dread in her slowly melted away and was replaced by sadness. _Maybe he just grew up_.

She reached the final page in the little book and was puzzled to see black. The entire page was simply black, as though it had been drenched in black ink or paint. She turned the page back but saw no ink bleeding through the sheet of paper, and turned back to the black page to examine it more closely. When she touched it she was transported to another memory setting, specifically, the inside of a car, where she sat across from Mathis and Sarah, both of whom were chattering with excitement.

She checked the page again and found it blank, as it was supposed to be whenever she was in another memory sequence. She shook the book, half-expecting the ink to come dripping out somewhere, but found nothing. The petite Shinigami brushed the incident off. Maybe the setting was dark like a movie theater.

She wasn't too far off the mark; when the car came to a stop, they stepped out in front of a large performance hall, with the words "Les Misérables" emblazoned above the entrance in great, flashing lights. People in fancy dresses and freshly pressed suits and tuxedos milled about, waiting for the show to start.

Cars in front and back of the limo produced men of many different sizes, all wearing the same black suit and tie with a cord running off the sides of their collars into their right ears. _Bodyguards, I presume_, Rukia thought.

"Where will you be meeting us, Raphael?" Mathis's father asked jovially.

The tallest man responded with equal jolliness, "In the second parking lot, sir. I'll keep my boys posted at the checkpoints we discussed earlier so we can make sure we catch you if you get lost."

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Jericho replied. "We'll let you know when the show is closing up so you can be ready for all these people coming out."

"That would be very helpful, ma'am," Raphael replied courteously. He leaned over and ruffled Mathis's hair affectionately, murmuring, "Let's try _not_ to start a ruckus this time, ok big guy? It'd make a lot of our jobs easier," he nodded his head toward the other men, who all chuckled knowingly. Mathis laughed brightly and replied mischievously, "We'll see…"

At this the guards burst out laughing and Mathis, very proud of his comedic impact, strutted forward to the men handing out programs. Mr. Jericho smiled and said to Raphael, "Would you like to come in and watch with us? I'm sure we'll be fine without protection for one day."

Raphael shook his head. "We gotta do our jobs, sir. But if you could snag a recording for us or something that would be swell."

"We'll make that our first priority once we're out of the theater," Mathis's father declared. "Now then, we're off. See you in a few, gentlemen."

Raphael nodded once and turned to his men, issuing orders. Rukia was suddenly reminded of Renji's leadership of Squad 6 when its Captain wasn't around, and also the relatively warmer relationship between the two ever since they'd clashed several months earlier.

She walked with them into the lavishly decorated auditorium, where she leapt up to a rafter upon which she perched herself, not unlike a bird. She kept an eye on the Jericho family, and noted with some amusement Mathis's excitement. His inability to keep quiet in the limousine as well as his participation in school plays and concerts had clued Rukia in on his growing fascination with shows and music. She herself was interested in what this show would be like, as she'd never experienced anything like it in Soul Society or in Japan.

The lights dimmed and the audience clapped thunderously as deep, thrumming music rumbled through the theater. Its tune was ominous, and the men on stage were appropriately outfitted with chains and rags. Rukia was enthralled with the performance as it began.

"_Look down…look down…Don't look 'em in the eye…" _the men sang. Rukia was immediately enraptured by the music and the men's performance, and watched as the story of Prisoner 24601 unfolded before her.

As the show carried on, Rukia consistently checked on Mathis, and saw that he was as taken with the music and acting as she was, if not more so. She flipped through Clarity and saw a myriad of observations and questions scribbling themselves into the paper. Even as a child he was incredibly intelligent, something she admired and envied.

During the intermission Sarah got up with Mrs. Jericho and left the theater, as did many others. Mathis, however, stayed put, and the tome showed that his mind was still racing, wondering what would happen next and thinking about how he liked or disliked certain characters.

It was at that moment all hell began to break loose.

A dull boom resonated through the theater, followed by a tremor that shook the building and knocked loose some dust plumes from the rafters and masonry. The audience looked around, confused and wondering what was happening. Rukia saw Sarah and Mrs. Jericho come back in tentatively, as if moving too quickly would have caused another quake.

Then a second shockwave, infinitely greater in magnitude and scope than the first, tore through the theater like a giant's thunderclap, causing fissures to appear in the walls and ceiling. Dull explosions could be heard in the distance, but only barely. Screaming had overtaken the audience, and their bemused countenances were now contorted in fear and complete distress. They stampeded towards the exit, carrying Sarah and Mrs. Jericho out like the tide would pull small objects off a beach and out towards sea.

"_What's going on?"_

"_I'm scared…"_

"_Where's Mommy? Where's Sarah?"_

Panic was evident in Mathis's thoughts, and his disposition was uncharacteristically fearful. He huddle against his father's leg for security, and soon they were the only ones left in the theater.

Mr. Jericho calmly but swiftly took Mathis by his hand and made for the side emergency exit. With a swift pound he opened the door and ushered Mathis out into the alleyway. Rukia leapt down from her perch and followed suit, tackling the door with the small of her shoulder and flinging it open. Mrs. Jericho and Sarah were waiting, and it became clear that this was a pre-determined meeting point should things go wrong-as they were now. The woman and children stood off to the side as Mr. Jericho called Raphael via throat mike.

"Raphael, there's been a change of plans. I take it you've detected the chaos in the theater front already; swing around to our second rendezvous point ASAP."

A few seconds passed and it became evident that there was no response, as the note of urgency in the man's voice intensified as he tried again. "Raphael, do you copy? We are changing our rendezvous plan to B2—."

"Oh I wouldn't bother talking to corpses if I were you, Jon."

It took Rukia a moment to process the foreign voice's words, as well as the expression of shocked recognition that had come over Mr. Jericho's face. He turned, as did the rest of his family, to face the source of the voice.

A man in a black suit stood at the end of the alley, smoking a cigarette calmly despite the dire nature of the situation. Explosions were still rocking the building, and embers were beginning to fall to the ground from the rooftops, leading Rukia to assume that the explosions were originating from there.

Some of the embers caught on what looked like brown dust, giving birth to a huge plume of fire that snaked around the walls of the alleyway to the exit that led to the street.

There was no longer any way to escape.

Mr. Jericho addressed the man in the suit indignantly, "Let my family go! Your quarrel is with me and me alone!"

"Are you in any position to be making demands, Jonathan?" the suited man laughed. "After all…I do hold your lives in the palm of my hand."

Slowly, deliberately, the man raised a hand, palm up, to showcase an orb of light. In it, Rukia saw several Minors depositing what looked like pallets of organic residue on the theater's rooftop. The residue fell through small cracks in the building's structure, and Rukia realized that the dust from before had not actually been dust, but had been the residue seeping into the building. A small ember landed on a pile of the dust and subsequently exploded violently into flame, incinerating two unlucky Minors that had been standing too close to the infernal dust.

"What do you want?" Mr. Jericho bellowed, instinctively moving in front of his family as if to shield them from the man standing at the end of the alleyway.

The man feigned thoughtfulness as he responded. "Oh I don't know…let me think."

He snapped his fingers and exclaimed. "Ah! I know exactly what I want."

A deafening _BOOM!_ shook the very ground beneath their feet, and Rukia turned in time to see the wall of the theater explode outward, sending a shower of bricks and wooden spars towards the Jericho family. Mr. Jericho wasn't fast enough, and could only watch in horror as he saw his wife fall, blood trickling down her temple and her side. The deluge of bricks had struck her twice in the head and a large splinter had lodged itself in her lower back. She hit the ground, eyes lifeless and unseeing. Sarah too was struck by a piece of the debris, and fell to the ground where she lay, next to her mother, motionless. A crimson moon blossomed on Mrs. Jericho's lilac dress, accompanied by rivulets of red that snaked down the foreheads of both mother and daughter.

Mr. Jericho's bellow of rage and agony resonated through the alleyway, and he drew what appeared to be some kind of dagger from his belt. He looked quickly towards Mathis, who cowered in fear and seemed to be in complete shock, and said, "Run! Protect your mother!"

Mathis complied and ran to the prone body of Mrs. Jericho and huddled next to her, shaking her as if to wake her up. His father turned towards the man in the suit and charged, bellowing a warcry.

The flames rose higher, and the suited man smirked as he made mincemeat of the charging man. He struck him so quickly, so precisely, that Rukia didn't even know where he'd hit or how many times he'd struck. All she saw was Mr. Jericho reeling, unable to attack or defend.

The next minute or so was so gruesome that Rukia couldn't bear to watch; she turned her head and covered her ears, but the screams were so loud and agonized that they drilled through her fingers and into her skull, where they lingered before being replaced by the next set.

Then the cacophony ceased, abruptly and without warning. Rukia raised her head and saw the silhouette of the man looming over Mathis's trembling form.

The man in the suit leaned away from the boy, whistling merrily and inhaling the fumes of the flames deeply. Blood dripped profusely from his left hand. He observed Mathis like a hawk would eye its prey, and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "What do I do with you?" he wondered aloud.

Mathis took that moment to get up, the fragment of a wooden beam held in his hands like a bat, and struck the man with all his strength repeatedly. The blows struck everywhere from his lower leg to his face, but the man didn't seem fazed at all. He stood there impassively, almost amused by the child's efforts. When Mathis became exhausted and could no longer move, he sank to his knees and panted from exertion…and waited.

The man seemed to notice this and shook his head. "No, no. I've figured out what I'll do with you. I think I'll let you live. I'll let you live so that you can relive this day for the rest of your life. You'll remember today and it'll eat away at you. You'll suffer immeasurably. I think that's a fitting punishment for your father's son, eh?"

"BRING THEM BACK!" Mathis screamed at the man, eyes red and wet with tears.

The sadist leaned forward and whispered his response.

"Never."

He turned and sneered over his shoulder, "Enjoy life as an orphan." Then there was a loud crack, and the body fell lifelessly to the floor like a discarded shell. The flames sizzled out abnormally quickly, and Rukia heard the cry of the Minors fade as they left the vicinity of the theater.

Then, inexplicably, it began to rain.

The silence was heavy. Palpable. For several moments the only sounds that could be heard were the drops of rain striking the ground. Then the silence was broken by the most pitiful wailing Rukia had ever heard. The wailing originated from Mathis, who had made his way over to his father's brutalized body and was cradling his lifeless head in his arms. Mr. Jericho's eyes were still open, and the sheen of death was visibly apparent in them. Sobbing, Mathis took his left hand and swept them down his father's face, closing his eyes.

She fell to her knees and slumped. She'd experienced so much of Mathis's life that she felt a part of the pain that the young Mathis was feeling. Rukia realized then that some of the sobs she heard were her own; she felt unbidden tears roll down her cheeks and breaths hitched in her chest. It all made sense now. Ichigo had lost a single parent due to Grand Fisher's attack on him when he was too young to understand the concept of Hollows, and even then he'd attained a hardness about him that lingered even when he smiled sincerely. Mathis had lost both of his parents in a show of mindless violence no seven year-old would have been able to bear. His cold demeanor, which she'd initially found detestable, now seemed less so and more pitiable.

She then recalled the Weavers' warning.

"_Search a man in pain and you will share his torment."_

She understood now. Oh how clearly she understood. The tears that wouldn't stop, the muscles in her legs that refused to support her weight, and the sobs that escaped her throat no matter how hard she tried to stifle them were testaments to her comprehension. She always thought herself a tough girl, strong enough to endure pain of both emotional and physical origin, but this was almost unbearable.

As both human and Shinigami languished in the miserable situation they were in, the sound of the rain dulled and eventually disappeared altogether. In spite of the tears that simply refused to cease their cascade, Rukia looked up and witnessed the world in complete shadow. Mathis and his father's body were all that she could see, and she felt, in the shadow…_something_.

From the black miasma a deep voice rumbled, and shook Rukia's very core with its timbre.

"_What will you do now, child?"_

Rukia couldn't tell if he'd heard the voice or not, as he continued to rock back and forth with his father's head in his arms.

"_He is dead, boy. The strength of your cries and the tightness with which you grip him will not change that_. _Nothing will._"

"Leave me alone!" the child screamed, finally looking up and baring his teeth. His mouth, which until now had always been twisted into a smile, was now warped into a pitiful grimace. His expression showed a grief that no seven year-old's countenance should have been capable of showing.

"_So you can sit there and cry until you draw your last breath?"_

"I KNOW who you are!" he screamed. "Daddy told me about you! You're one of _them_!"

"_How wrong you are, young Jericho. How foolishly _ignorant _you are, Mathis Jericho."_

The darkness was so thick that it seemed to coil around Rukia, swallowing her in paralysis and fear. Her tears had stopped for the moment, but only because her dread was so strong and her anxiety so elevated.

"_I _was_ one of them. But I am no longer. Instead I seek their destruction, just as your father and his…underworld contacts did. And just as you shall."_

Mathis shook his head in frustration and cried, "What can I do? I'm just seven! Daddy couldn't do anything and he's so much smarter and stronger than I am!"

"_You can hunt them."_

"I can't—."

"_You CAN._" Rukia heard a quiet but immeasurably great fury in the voice as he spoke._ "Do you think that I am speaking to you simply to savor the sound of my own voice? No. I offer you a choice."_

Mathis's sniffles abruptly stopped. His eyes widened and he whispered in a shaky voice. "I'm listening."

"_You can stay the way you are, a sniveling little boy with no power, and become an old man and die, while the demons live on and continue to do as they please with humanity. They will run rampant through the world, unchecked and unchallenged. All will come to understand your pain, and by then it will be too late for them to do anything about it. For _you_ to do anything about it."_

A small fleck of dark grey metal appeared in the miasma.

"_Or…"_

The fleck expanded into a mask with a foul appearance. Two wide circles gaped blindly into the darkness, and a thick slit with both ends angling downward into a vicious snarl spoke of a certain madness that Rukia could not hope to comprehend.

"_Take my soul into yours, and gain the power to kill them all with your own hands."_

Mathis's eyes widened as the mask's gaping eye sockets gained two pale blue dots as pupils, the same exact shade of blue that twinkled in Mathis's eyes. Only they seemed colder, bleaker, and infinitely more menacing than the sky blue that gazed into them, watery and trembling. The mask began to speak to him with a distorted version of his own voice, eliciting a gasp from the little boy.

"He killed Mom and Dad, Matty. You won't let them do that to anyone else, will you? You won't let him get away with what he did today, right?"

The boy lowered his head, the flow of tears now ebbing. His hands, which had been shaking until now, stilled and came to rest. They slowly clenched, and Rukia realized he'd made his decision.

"No…" she whispered, her voice cracking as she watched helplessly.

"_Good. Now tell me. What will you do now?"_

Mathis whispered under his breath, but the wind caught his words and swept it away.

"_Louder, boy."_

"I'll kill him."

"_Say it with conviction. With every ounce of fury that runs through your blood."_

Mathis lifted his head and bellowed, "I'll kill him!"

In that moment, she heard it. The familiar iron and bitterness that was present in the older Mathis's voice but had been mercifully absent from his younger self up until this point. She watched in horror as his arms were enveloped in a black flame. His skin slowly darkened into what looked like black crystal, polished and angular, and the flame coursed up his arms until they reached his shoulders, burning away the sleeves of his suit and leaving his crystalline arms open to the air.

Clarity shook violently in front of Rukia, who'd dropped it when she'd shielded her eyes and ears from the gruesome murder of Mathis's father. It shook and shook until Rukia thought it would burst into flame or rip itself apart, and then opened of its own accord to the final page. The page that had been black when she first beheld it. On it was a single word.

_Kill._

Then more words joined.

_Murder._

_Avenge._

_Destroy._

The words continued to pile up on the page, and, when there was no more space available, began to overlap one another.

_Kill them all._

_Crush them._

_Never forgive.  
_

_Never forget.  
_

"Stop it!" she cried despite the fact that she knew no one could hear her. She clawed at the page as though she could rip the words off the paper, but to no avail. She watched helplessly as the words covered every last square inch of the page, until a single space remained. In it, the final statement appeared before being swallowed in black.

_I will kill him._

She looked up, reeling from everything she was taking in, and felt the tears flow again. How? How was the seven year-old child enduring this? It was absolute torture for the Shinigami, whose heart was practically shattered to pieces by the non-stop barrage of ordeals, yet the seven year-old boy stood there, accepting it and taking up the voice's offer for power. He stood with an air of purpose, of determination fueled by fury and grief.

His eyes were glowing brightly now, the sky blue of his pupils now icier than before, like the blue that had appeared in the mask's eye sockets. She saw that the sclera of his right eye had turned pitch black, and saw his bangs grow longer to cover the deformity.

"_My power is now yours to use, Mathis. Use it wisely, and I will grant you your revenge."_

Mathis panted slowly as he took in his transformation with his own eyes. His tears had stopped, and his pitiful expression had become stony and dark.

After several moments he spoke to the shadows.

"Who was it?"

The dark voice responded, "_A demon. One of the few that can challenge us now."_

Mathis hissed, and Rukia found herself frightened by the young boy's twisted voice. It was nothing like it was before; it lacked energy and joy, and relayed nothing, resembling the stony emotionlessness of the older Mathis she knew.

"His name. What was his name?" he snarled.

"_He is Pride."_

At the sound of the name, Mathis screamed at the top of his lungs, letting loose a roar poisoned with rage. The sound echoed through the darkness as Mathis faded from view, and lingered with Rukia as the world brightened and became the grey, windowless room once again.

She couldn't even sob anymore. The tears were falling like rain, but no sound left her parted lips. She gasped for breath and clutched her chest as the grief stabbed at her like a sharpened knife.

The memories continued to flow through her, though she didn't experience them directly as she had before. An image of Mathis standing by Sarah's side in the hospital, expression impassive and cold. The sound of hammer striking metal as Mathis worked metal for a project that lasted for two years. The cold, raging fury that lurked inside him whenever he found and fought demons. This was Mathis. This was the Mathis she had come to know.

A final memory presented itself to her. She opened her eyes and found herself in the forge again, and watched as Mathis pounded away at a strip of dark grey metal as a ten year-old boy. His hammering stopped at last and he drowned the red metal in water, cooling it and causing a bright light to strobe once. He pulled it out and Rukia saw that it wasn't a metal strip, it was a long ribbon comprised of metal threads that had been so finely interwoven that they'd looked like a single piece of cloth.

He glared at the ribbon and crushed it in one hand tightly, the fire in his eyes burning brighter and hotter than the furnaces in the forge.

He wound the ribbon steadily around his arm from his shoulder down to his fingers, encapsulating it completely in the grey cloth-metal that Rukia now recognized. He did the same for the other arm, and rose, flexing his hands and judging his handiwork. He grimaced a little as he moved, and let a hand drop on one of the tables. A large thud and the formation of a noticeable dent in the steel led Rukia to realize that the ribbon was incredibly dense, effectively weighing Mathis down and causing huge stress on his body.

He flicked his hands open, and with a series of jangling the wrappings came to life, forming the chains she had seen not so long ago, though they lacked their bladed edges and possessed smaller, simpler speartips.

"_What purpose do these chains serve, boy?"_ the voice rumbled again.

Mathis paused for a moment before he recited what seemed to be a poem.

_You are not without sin._

_You were born to men, and raised by men._

_But as the years pass, thy humanity fades._

_And you become less than you used to be then._

_You are not without sin._

_You will become a demon thyself and discard thy humanity._

_That all of Hell will come to fear thy existence._

_To fear thy name and fear thy fury._

_You are not without sin._

_And for thy sin the payment is penance._

_The Chains of Penance will burden you forever._

_For the weight of thy sin requires eternal severance ._

"_Amusing. So you believe these chains will absolve you of your transgressions?"_

"They will not. This was a poem written by my ancestor to his son before he rode out fight the demons before. These chains I've forged are to simply remind me that I'm no better than those I kill."

"_And what is your sin?"_

"…You should know better than to ask questions to which you already know the answer."

"_So long as you remember who I am and the purpose for which I gave you my strength, I will ask what I must."_

"Don't worry," Mathis growled. The blue of his eye glowed brightly, and a blue light illuminated the shadow his longs bangs cast on the right side of his face. "I _won't_ forget."

His face swirled in Rukia's vision and slowly dissolved into grey, leaving her alone in the blank room once again.

Rukia sat in the grey room, unable to move from fatigue and exhaustion. The memories had relentlessly wrung her dry of tears and rendered her vulnerable in so many ways. It was like she'd just re-experienced Ichigo's fight with Grand Fisher over and over and over again. The worry and anxiety mixed with the shared sorrow from the recollections and festered inside, threatening to eat her inside out.

The grey walls disintegrated, unbeknownst to the weary Shinigami, and two shadowy figures loomed in the darkness.

"Intruder," one whispered.

"She looks like a sweet one. How I'd love to make her _scream_…" the other hissed.

"No. Drive her out. Quickly."

"You're no fun. Let me play with her for just—."

"_No._ If you will not be swift, I will do it myself."

* * *

A cold wind swept through the dark and rustled Rukia's hair. She shuddered as a voice whispered in her ear.

"**You do not belong here. Leave."**

And a chill swept through her body before an unseen force smashed her in the back of the head, causing her to black out. As her vision faded, she saw in the darkness four pinpricks of light. Two purple and two yellow.

"Tch. I wanted to have some fun with her."

"You may yet get your wish. She will be back. I can feel it."

Then she was gone, drifting back into reality with Clarity clutched tightly to her chest, a bastion against the memories that weren't hers.


	13. Share my Curse

**A little shorter than I would normally like, but I didn't want to try to 'force' myself to write something that didn't fit the chapter. I'll try to update on a monthly basis, but no guarantees :(. Thanks to all of you for being patient and reading along, and, as always, I welcome criticism of all forms. I am still open to requests/suggestions, so please feel free to drop a review or pm me with your ideas.**

**Chapter 13 – Share my Curse**

**Mood Music**

**Powerless – Linkin Park**

Rukia opened her eyes and blinked as a film of tears spilled out of her eyes abruptly. She wondered why she'd been crying in her sleep and got up. She looked around and found herself, as expected, in the tent. Sarah was snoozing peacefully next to her. Then, between them, she saw Clarity.

Everything came rushing back. Her tears suddenly had meaning, and she had to stifle her weeping so as to keep from waking Sarah up. It was all true. It hadn't been a nightmare. She struggled with the reality, clutching Clarity tightly in her hands and trying to compose herself.

"So. That is its function."

Time seemed to stop in its tracks. There were no words to describe the unearthly chill that gripped Rukia. The owner of the voice was unmistakable, as was the quiet rage in his voice.

"…I'm sorry," she murmured.

There was a heavy silence for several seconds, which was then broken by his terse command.

"Outside."

His footsteps faded as he strode out of the tent, and, numbly, Rukia stood and followed, leaving Clarity behind. The glaze of tears was still there, screwing up her vision as she tried to keep walking without openly crying. Mathis stood next to a large column, facing the other direction and unmoving. She stopped when she was a few yards from him and wiped away her tears, steeling herself against Mathis's fury.

For almost a minute they stood, silent aside from their breathing.

He flicked his wrist, bringing a single chain to life from his wrappings and forming the all-too familiar chain-staff. He turned and gazed at Rukia, anger evident in his single blue eye. He remained that way for several seconds before surprising Rukia with speech.

"It's been so long," he whispered to himself, his words barely audible to Rukia. He spun the spear in his hand repeatedly, causing anxiety to course through Rukia like wildfire. She prepared herself for an instantaneous attack when—.

"Will you honor me with this dance?"

For a second Rukia thought she was hallucinating. There simply could have been no way that Mathis had just asked her to _dance_. Her incredulity must have showed plainly on her face, because Mathis explained his words, a rare gesture.

"Many cultures of old considered battle a form of dance, and believed that their strongest warriors needed to be as capable of controlling and expressing themselves skillfully through the art of dance as they were of wielding a sword or spear. If they could not, they were oft not considered strong."

"This culture has been preserved more in Asian martial arts than in any other modern culture's discipline, as I've observed. Students of their respective discipline execute their martial ability in controlled, solo performances as a way to hone their skill and also a way to showcase the strength of their complete control over their body."

As if to prove his point, he slowly poised himself for combat, gracefully sweeping his leg out in front of him and took up a stance similar to Madarame Ikkaku's battle posture, something that Mathis had not shown in the few spars he'd used his staff.

"You have already seen my past. There is no changing that. In fact this may be an opportunity to let loose all my rage while keeping my body in check. A perfect exercise for self-control. Very few know of my history, and I would prefer to keep it that way. On top of that, you asked me to help you become stronger. If minimal progress was made here, perhaps there is potential for improvement through future training sessions involving this ritual of mine."

"So I ask again," he murmured, the anger in his voice less obvious and somewhat blunted. "Will you honor me with this dance?"

Now Rukia understood what Mathis meant, and though she knew she offered little resistance against Mathis's tremendous skill, her emotions were still running rampant through her, and she couldn't help but acquiesce. "Yes."

Mathis nodded and began a series of deliberate but powerful motions that inched him closer to Rukia. He tapped the ground with his weapon every so often, pounding a drumbeat that slowly sped up as he drew closer. Swing after swing of his staff cut swathes through the air, whistling as the sharp blade came ever closer to the Shinigami. After several agonizing seconds of anticipation, Rukia too moved forward and engaged the young man.

His combat style had changed dramatically from what Rukia had already seen, consisting of carefully moderated slashes and jabs that Rukia easily parried and dodged, though she often winced when she blocked a particularly powerful swing. She responded with a slower style as well, allowing Sode no Shirayuki to flow through the air along a natural path of its choosing rather than trying to swing with brute force as she'd been forced to do before.

Unlike previous sessions, where she had been frantically jumping about and furiously swinging to keep from being minced by Mathis's chains, this spar was slow and elegant. Their movements never ceased, their limbs constantly flowing from one position to another. Their swings were less to maim and more to meet each other's weapons before moving into the next strike.

However, despite the fact that she was able to keep up with Mathis for the first time in the short few days she'd known him, Rukia was not in any way at peace. Not only was she still raw with grief from the memories that Clarity had forced upon her, there was also a tremendously oppressive aura radiating from Mathis that was normally absent. Though his disposition seemed calmer than normal and much less negative, the murderous air that assailed her like the streams of sand outside in the Wasteland said otherwise. It was like she was fighting a totally different person. She imagined this was what the Captain-Commander's reiatsu might feel like if he let a small portion of it exude from himself.

For several minutes their dance continued. Sparks flew as the foreign metal of Mathis's spear slashed through the air and met the white blade of Sode no Shirayuki. They travelled from their original point of contact to various parts of the cavern, never once stopping their motion.

Rukia found that the spar was purging; her tears had finally stopped flowing and her breath no longer hitched in her chest, though the sadness was still there, dull and throbbing like a cancerous growth. She flowed through the motions with great fluidity, her body writhing and twisting as she executed her form as skillfully as she could.

The grace of their movements eventually caused thoughts to cross Rukia's mind, like how the direction of Mathis's life somewhat resembled Ichigo's.

The thought of the orange-headed Substitue-Shinigami suddenly caused a hitch in her movements as the chain of thoughts led back to the death of Ichigo's mother and then to the memories of Mathis's grisly past, reawakening her emotional torment. She stumbled backwards into a pillar, and flinched as the razor-sharp edge of Mathis's spear tickled her cheek. In her absent-mindedness, Mathis had continued his attack, leading his spear through the air and knocking her weapon out of her loosened grip. If he had been fighting to kill as he had been for the past several days, Rukia would most certainly have suffered severe injury.

His steel-blue eye loomed mere inches from the dark violet pools of Rukia's, and despite the little effort it must have taken him to disarm her, he panted heavily, as did the petite Shinigami. The both of them remained in that position for a several moments, before Mathis's spear detached itself from its anchor point in the wall with a _snick! _and its wielder straightened.

"Why did you hesitate?"

She looked up and saw Mathis gazing upon her with true curiosity, the least hostile emotion he'd ever shown towards her. But behind it was a sort of anticipatory disdain, as though he didn't want to hear the answer to his question.

She responded with a question of her own. "How do you do it? How did you withstand the loss? I've seen my fair share of death and experienced sorrow in my time…but never anything like that. "

Mathis was silent for several moments. His eye flicked up and down her body like he was sizing her up, before it finally settled on a distant point in the cavern.

"Because I remember I had a loving family," he said softly. His gentle tone was alarmingly foreign, and something about it caused Rukia great anxiety. "I had a father that meant the world to me. I had a mother that loved me no matter how many mistakes I made. My little sister and I were closer than close. Even some of the people that worked in our home were dear friends of mine. I remember those times with great fondness."

When he turned to face her again, she felt the murderous aura from before redouble its burning assault on her skin. The hidden eye beneath his bangs glowed a bright, icy blue, and his mouth curled into a vicious snarl as he spat, "_Then I remember that one demon was responsible for taking all of that away from me._"

Rukia stood against the storm, steadfast and unwavering. She felt his rage boiling against her skin like liquid flame and could have sworn some patches of her shihakusho had begun to smoke, but still managed to muster up the courage to ask him more. She had to.

"So you still grieve?" was all she could manage.

In his unbridled fury he stabbed forward with his chain staff, and the motion pulverized the pillar at Rukia's back, sending fragments of the column crumbling to the floor in so many fragments. The air around her practically became caustic, and she actually felt some of her skin smolder in the oppressive atmosphere.

She knew she'd overstepped into his privacy, but she also knew she'd done the right thing. Mathis contained so much rage that it was eating him from the inside out, and his invitation to spar in form and his behavior during said spar had been evidence enough. Just as she'd done with Ichigo, she knew she had to alleviate some of Mathis's immense stress, having intimately experienced his horrifying past. Sarah's longing expression whenever she saw Mathis with his attention elsewhere and her experience of their escapades in their childhood told Rukia that the little girl loved her brother greatly, and that it hurt her to see him the way he was now. By allowing Mathis to vent his fury through prying questions and future 'dances,' perhaps she could help them both.

Mathis glared into Rukia's eyes, breathing deeply and trying to calm himself down. The air slowly returned to being cool and the light in Mathis's unseen eye faded into darkness as he straightened. The chain staff clanged and jangled as it unraveled itself and fused back into the wrapping around Mathis's arms. He stood there silently for a split second before whispering, "My grief has long since become something far deadlier."

"Matty? Rukia?" came Sarah's voice from a few feet away. The girl yawned and groggily stared at the two of them, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Shouldn't we be going soon?"

"We should," Mathis said tersely. He stepped past Rukia and Sarah, heading for the tents. Sarah tagged along, stifling yawns. Rukia got the impression that she must have woken up from Mathis's venomous tirade, and felt somewhat guilty, though not enough to regret her actions. Her determination to give the Jericho siblings a peace of mind nudged her grief aside for a moment, and fueled her resolve to unearth the young Mathis that had lost his way in that alley.

Several minutes later, Rukia felt sand particles bite into her skin as the trio traversed the dunes of the Wasteland again. Like so many flies, the particles pried into the cloak Mathis had issued her, and scratched her pale skin everywhere, even under her shihakusho. The warm sand was a nightmare for her, parting beneath her stride like a gaping mouth. Every so often she would fall into a minute sinkhole, leaving her up to the thighs in the sand. If she didn't know better, she would've thought the Wasteland was alive and trying to eat her. Each time it happened, Sarah would giggle before Mathis yanked her out of the precarious situation; each time he did that, he would look at her witheringly, as though she was the most inane being he'd ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Despite all of these things, however, Rukia was focused on other things. Mathis's grisly past was on her mind, but on top of that her concern for Ichigo and his Inner Hollow had resurfaced. His expression when she'd first found him in the abandoned factory had been desolate and completely defeated. In the time she'd known him she had never seen him telegraph such hopelessness. If a simple vision of what he was to face was enough to make him like that, what exactly was he up against?

She considered using the tome Clarity to peer into Ichigo's soul, but the pain that had accosted her when she'd investigated Mathis's past had almost incapacitated her. She still carried it with her, and suspected that it would never truly leave her, a lesson that she would bear for a long time. On top of that, however, was the fact that something in Mathis's mind had been able to attack her and forcibly eject her from Mathis's memories. If that was possible, there was no telling what Ichigo's Hollow would do to her if she intruded. She knew without question that she was no match against it; her elder brother had apparently barely lasted a few minutes against his onslaught before Ichigo had wrested back control of his body. There was no doubt in her mind that she would not be able to hold her own against the spirit the way she was now.

As she wrestled with her indecision and the pain of witnessing Mathis's past, her senses noticed a lack of scouring sand, prompting her to actually pay attention to her surroundings. She found that they'd returned to the Wasteland-side of the translocator. With a curt nod, Mathis motioned for her to step in the ring. Within moments Rukia's thoughts vanished along with her body, converted into energy and reassembled back in the world of the living. She hoped that, by some miracle, her grief would somehow be left behind in the barren Wasteland.

But of course, such was not meant to be.

"̸̸́͡T̵̕͢͢͞h̸̀é̸̵̛̛ ̸͝fì̵r͜͏̛ś͘͟͝t̢͜ ̷̡̀͘͠ò͘͘͢f̸̸̡͝ ̨̕͞͞͝f̶͘͢oú̶͡r͜͢…̡̡́͢͡"̴͡͝͡

_It's cold. The air is biting._

_He opens his eyes. Assailed by white._

_Where am I?_

_What is this place?_

"̴͘͜͜s͏͘͠͞ḩ̡̀a̴̸̛͢͡l͟͢l̵ ̨̨́b̵̛i̧͝t̡̧͘e̷̸͜͡ ̛a̴̴͘͟t̢̨́̀͡ ̷̨̀̕͘t̷̸̷͝h̶̶̨̛e̴͠͠͞ ̴̷͢J̶͢͡e̸̷͜a̷̧͘l͟ó̸̴͢͜u̵͟͏̸s̡̡̀͜ ̶̨̡͘O̴͢n̡̨͟͝ȩ̷͘͜"̶͝͞

_The white begins fade. A snowy landscape becomes recognizable._

_There are sounds. The sounds of a battle are near._

_A woman cries out. Pleads for her life. Begs for mercy._

_An unfamiliar, sibilant voice responds._

"_No."_

"Y̨̕͜͢o̕͞͏̢u҉̴̸͟ẁ̷̴̧̨į̴̴l͞l̴ ͞s̡͘̕͜av͠͡è͜ ̴͏̨͟h̨̢̛e̡r̸͢.̴̨́͞͡."

"_Stop!"_

_Who is that?_

_Whose voice is that?_

_A hiss chills the air. Conflict breaks out again._

_A crackle of electricity. _

_A gasp of pain._

_Rukia._

_It's Rukia._

_What are you doing?_

_There are cries of pain. She is hurt._

_Rukia…run._

_A scream. Long and loud._

_RUKIA!_

"NO!" Ichigo yelled, cold sweat drenching his brow. Disoriented, he threw his head around, trying to regain his bearings. All he saw was his room. No snowy battlefield, no trace of carnage, and more importantly, no Rukia.

_She's not hurt…_he thought, remembering that she had elected to stay behind at the Underworld base for a moment. He looked at the clock by his bed. 6:44 am.

_What is she doing that she'd stay so late? _he wondered, noting the open closet door and the closet's vacancy. He peeled the covers off, noting that they were drenched in sweat. As he closed the door to his closet, a gust of wind alerted him to Rukia's return.

He turned to greet her, but stopped short when he saw her face. Her countenance, usually impassive or inscrutable, was a twisted mix of grief, fatigue, and, inexplicably, determination. It was a strange combination of emotions, and Ichigo wasn't sure if it was just grogginess or a trick of the light.

"Hey. What's up?"

She looked up at him and he saw clearly her emotional state. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red, and her nose was a rosy pink. He'd seen Yuzu bawl one too many times to not recognize the aftermath of heavy crying.

He grasped her by both shoulders and enunciated clearly, "Rukia. What's wrong?"

She held his gaze for a few seconds before looking away.

"Mathis…he…"

"What did he do?" he asked urgently. Despite the cease-fire and shaky alliance between them and Mathis, any invocation of the enigmatic young man's name caused him great unease, especially because their first two encounters had ended with him lodged in the asphalt of the street.

"He…" she seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then she let out an enormous sigh, ending with, "Nothing. It's not something you should worry about."

"Rukia—."

She grasped one his hands in hers, and the gesture immediately silenced him. There was a meaningful glint in her eyes that implored him to listen, and despite his growing concern, he chose to remain silent.

"I didn't come to harm, and Mathis wasn't responsible for any of what's troubling me," she said softly.

He kept his gaze locked with hers, still not convinced.

"Please understand," she whispered, pulling his hands off her shoulders and reopening the closet. Upon climbing in, she turned and said, "We're mobilizing at 10am. You should make preparations to leave. Let the others know what they have to do while they're here."

"…Ok," he replied, visibly miffed by Rukia's refusal to talk about what was bothering him. She smiled weakly, but the expression quickly faded as she closed the door, leaving a heavy silence in the air.

She had failed to notice his cold sweat and soaked sheets, something she would have harassed him about on any other day. Though he was glad she had not hounded him for any sort of explanation, it caused him further anxiety. For a moment he considered saying something reassuring, like telling her that he would be there for her if she needed someone at her side, but he couldn't muster up the will to follow through, and simply left his spirit body with a squeeze of the Representative Badge.

His grogginess and the strange vision felt like distant memories as he shot out the window. All he could picture in his mind was Rukia's strange expression and her words.

_Rukia…_

If he'd stayed a split second longer, he would have caught the small sob that came from behind the closet door and the words that accompanied it.

"Not again…"


	14. The Eldritch

**Managed to throw this together despite many blocks and irritating character issues. That said, this chapter was a bit underwhelming for me, but I didn't want to keep editing it into oblivion. New readers, welcome to the series and thanks for reading; old readers, thanks a bunch for sticking around and offering input. Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Mood Music**

**Shiro Sagisu – Princess in Captivity**

** On the Verge of Insanity**

**Chapter 14 – The Eldritch**

Ichigo had never felt a greater sense of urgency than he did now. All over town were the black-garbed Shinigami of Soul Society's reconnaissance squad, scrambling back and forth with different pieces of equipment, likely communications gear and early warning systems. Ichigo had never thought of Soul Society as a high-tech army, but the presence of so much gear was fast changing his perspective of their armed forces.

The Underworld was _something_, too. While the Shinigami were easy to spot, the soldiers of Mathis's division were virtually invisible. Every once in a while he felt someone's eyes boring into the back of his head, and when he turned to glean the observer, he was met with the flashing of lenses and various kinds of weaponry before the figures melted back into the shadows. It was almost like seeing samurai and ninja working together against a collective enemy.

Ishida, Inoue, and Chad were now aware of the threat that the Legions posed to Karakura, and once Ichigo had explained the plan to send a strike force to Europe while the majority of Shinigami and Mathis's Underworld forces remained behind to defend their home, the three teens began preparations of their own. Ishida mentioned preparing traps of some sort to protect key parts of the city from Legion attack, while Inoue decided she would help revitalize the wounded when the time came. Chad chose to coordinate with Renji on rapid-response teams to deal with Legion attacks as quickly as possible until further reinforcements could be mobilized.

As for his extended absence, Ichigo had reluctantly resorted to leaving his body behind with Kon in control. Though he didn't like the idea of the feisty Mod Soul in control of his body again, he saw no better alternative; taking his body out of the country with him would raise many questions that he would not be able to answer, especially from his family.

When Ichigo arrived at the club where the Underworld base was hidden, there was no flurry of activity as he had expected. Phil the bartender was wiping the bar down, and gave Ichigo a curt nod of approval as he sized him up.

"Go on in. They're waiting for you."

Once he'd reached the metal door, the familiar trap came into play, and the distorted voice of Silas rasped, "Password?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small slip. When he had left the base the night before, he had been issued a password of his own, which allowed him to enter the underground hideout. It turned out that the password Kale had used was not a universal password; all Underworld members were assigned a code-word/phrase unique to them that would identify them in the mainframe's database. Ichigo's was, appropriately—.

"Black moon," Ichigo said quietly, feeling somewhat embarrassed. The whole thing did seem like a cliché movie plot. He could somewhat understand Kale's frustration now, considering he probably had to do this at least once or twice a day.

The bars behind him slid back into the cracks in the wall from whence they originated, and the door to the base eased open with the slightest squeak. Silas was waiting for him on the other side.

"Do you stand there every time someone knocks on the door?" Ichigo asked wryly, stepping down the staircase as the heavy door slammed shut with a dull thud.

"Fortunately, no. The cheery voice that greets you is a pre-recorded response system the Prophet uses in response to acceptable and unacceptable passcode responses. It just so happened that in the past two instances you have been here I was waiting for you at the entrance," he replied.

Upon hitting the ground-level of the subterranean complex, Ichigo noticed a flurry of activity. Several men were jumping into a very large translocation pad only to disappear a moment later. Occasionally a pair would hoist a large crate and place it on the pad, transporting it along with them to their destination.

"How come there's no technician by that port?" Ichigo asked. "Isn't that a potential security breach or something?"

"We've enabled autonomous translocation on that pad to facilitate our preparations for departure. As you may have guessed, not all of our supplies are going to fit in the back of a truck," he said, gesturing to some larger crates and containers not 10 feet from the large pad. "To avoid sticking out in public, we use that pad to mule supplies from here to locations of our choosing."

"Where exactly are we going?" the Substitute Shinigami inquired, watching as people came and went through the large portal.

"We are travelling by private ship," Silas explained, "so as to dodge unnecessary customs checks and to determine our own stops and path. The Underworld is in possession of a handful of warships that we use for operations such as this. And it just so happens that the Captain of the ship we used to haul supplies in from our European base opted to take a break in Japan. Our exodus has coincided perfectly with his departure."

Ichigo nodded and noticed Sarah standing by one of the support columns. She looked as though she were pouting, to Ichigo's surprise and curiosity.

"Hey, Sarah!" he called. Silas turned to look at her as well, and upon hearing her name, Sarah lit up and bounced over to the two young men. "You called?" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Are you ready to go, little miss?" Silas asked her, ruffling her hair amicably. She beamed and responded in the affirmative.

"Was something up?" Ichigo inquired. "You didn't look too happy while you were over there by yourself."

At his words, Sarah's pout reemerged, more pronounced than before. She huffed her annoyance and crossed her arms. Despite her best efforts to look mad, Ichigo couldn't help but see a child trying to feel important and be a part of an adult world she clearly did not belong in. It was amusing in a morbid sort of way.

"Matty wouldn't let me help move equipment to the ship!" she whined. "I even asked Alexander if I could help and he said yes!"

Silas clucked his disapproval and wagged his finger at Sarah like a parent would discipline a baby. "Sarah, come on. First off, his name is Aleksander. And second, you know very well that Mathis does not approve of you participating in Underworld operations."

She stamped her foot and responded, "But I'm part of the Underworld too!"

The second in command shook his head and replied, "And you _know_ Mathis would have you excommunicated in a heartbeat were it not detrimental to the Underworld. The fact that he didn't raze half of Italy when he first heard the news of your induction is a miracle in and of itself."

"Still!" she yelled. "I want to be of help!"

Upon hearing this, a passing group of men clamored and called out to her.

"Sarah, you're more help than you'll ever know, babe!"

"Yeah, you stitched me up real good that time!"

"I probably wouldn't be walking around like this if it weren't for you!"

Silas nodded to them in thanks, which they reciprocated with words of vigor and cheer.

"You see? You're already a tremendous asset to the Underworld," Silas reassured her. "Besides, Mathis doesn't want you wasting any more of your energy on us. It's his way of looking out for you."

Sarah appeared to calm down a little at their words, but let out a 'hmph' of frustration nonetheless. She bounded away from the two of them before they could stop her and vanished over the portal.

Ichigo gave Silas a meaningful look, to which Silas responded, "Look, I have a hard time seeing the resemblance myself. Cut me some slack."

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply but stopped as a familiar reiatsu tugged at his limited senses. He looked up at the entrance to the underground dome and, sure enough, there stood Rukia. The small Shinigami nodded to him, a gesture he returned wordlessly, having understood what it meant. _I'm ready now_.

"Is there any way we can help?" he asked Silas. "We want to get to Europe as quickly as we can if it means putting Karakura out of harm's way faster."

Silas shook his head. "You underestimate us, Kurosaki. Our preparations are being finalized as we speak. Everything was completed last night." He gestured to the boxes next to the translocator. "These supplied are not outbound; they are from our HQ in Europe. Just about everything else we need has already been loaded onto our submersible."

"Submersible?" asked Rukia, who had just gotten into earshot. "What is that?"

Silas cocked an eyebrow at the petite girl, who shuffled her feet and blushed in embarrassment.

"W—what? Soul Society doesn't have some of these things from the World of the Living, and we don't know much beyond our assigned areas," she muttered under her breath.

"Our submersible. A submarine," Silas tried. The blank look on Rukia'a face prompted him to proceed further. "It is a marine vehicle that dives beneath the surface of water so as to travel while avoiding detection from potential enemies."

"He means a boat that travels underwater."

Rukia let out an 'oh' of understanding at Ichigo's concise definition.

"But…won't that take a while?" Rukia asked after a few moments of silence. "I thought travelling by air was the fastest way to get around in this world."

"It is…if you are willing to waste time with immigration and customs checks. The cargo we transport is not exactly civilian hardware; if we were caught with it at any public transportation hub, it would likely take weeks to get in touch with someone who could clear up the ensuing mess," Silas explained.

"Commercial marine vehicles like cargo ships and luxury lines are a no-go as well, which leaves military transportation. Our contacts in the military are not capable of covering up the mysterious disappearance of one of their ships, so we use our own, and the submarine is an ideal craft for slipping under the radar," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm sure you can appreciate how much trouble could abound from a foreign country's navy spotting an unidentified warship within firing range," he directed to Ichigo, who let out a nervous laugh in response. In the back of his mind he thought, _God, I hope these guys don't set off WWIII_.

"_Yo, Silas_," Kale's voice sounded from a radio on Silas's belt. "_You guys ready to go yet? I need our boys to rest up so we can get to work later_."

"Better sooner than later, Kale. We will be leaving within the hour," Silas shot back quickly.

"_Goddammit. Wanted to get some sleep…_" he grumbled.

"You'll have plenty of time to sleep while we're gone, slacker," Silas said, the irritation in his voice clear.

"_I'm not a slacker!"_ Kale protested, but to no avail. Silas re-holstered the radio and instructed Ichigo and Rukia to move to the ship.

"You'll be looking for a Captain Andropov. He's the commanding officer of U-71. Tell him I sent you and he will let you know what you will be doing and the general direction of our voyage. We depart in 24 minutes, so find him quickly unless you want to be left behind."

With that, the suited man began bellowing orders to remaining members of the Underworld, who immediately began snapping to their designated positions and prepared for departure.

Ichigo looked down at Rukia to gauge her mood, and found that though she looked normal, there was a sliver of the confusion and emotion still there, hidden in the violet pools of her eyes. She looked up at him, conscious of his extended gaze. The two said nothing for a moment, before Ichigo asked, "Do you want to talk?"

Rukia shook her head slowly. Ichigo didn't press the matter further. He wanted to _know_, dammit, but he wasn't about to force her to talk about whatever was eating her. She was strong. She would talk to him when she was good and ready, and it was his job to keep his mouth shut and be there when she finally decided to spill the beans.

"Then let's go," he said firmly. Her nod of affirmation was much more energetic, and the two walked into the translocator with purpose.

Unlike the pads that had taken them to the Wasteland, the large translocator produced no buildup of light or energy, no tingling sensation in their bodies; it was almost as though they'd walked through an invisible door.

The day was bright and a few wispy clouds were scattered across the sky. All around them the soldiers of the Underworld were preparing for push-off, transferring large crates from the docks to orderly rows stacked next to the translocator exit.

A massive, gun-metal grey ship floated by the dock, silent and eerily still. The ship itself appeared strange for a submarine, as there appeared to be a wider, flat area that looked as though were the deck of a normal ship. There were even railings and what looked like small cannons on deck. If Ichigo hadn't known better, he would never have guessed the ship was a submarine. The only feature on the ship that looked vaguely like it belonged on a submarine was a tower-like structure in the middle of the sub's hull, the submarine's sail.

While most of the ship was undamaged, there appeared to be two gashes on the sail, stark silver against the shadowy grey of the rest of the hull. They were shallow wounds, but were wide, leading Ichigo to believe that perhaps the ship had sustained an attack from a living thing rather than from colliding with underwater rocks. As far as Ichigo knew, nuclear submarines could have very thick hulls capable of withstanding incredible pressure. What creature could cause such damage to a submarine's hull?

"Don't mind the little cuts," a grizzled voice called to them in accented English. Ichigo and Rukia turned to see a man of large stature approach them with a strange, loping gait. Wrinkles adorned his face like the ridges of bark in an old tree, but the spark of acuity in his eyes and the tightness in the corners of his bearded mouth relayed authority. His eyes appeared soft and dark but gleamed with cunning, a trait Ichigo had not seen in many aside from Urahara Kisuke. A captain's cap rested atop his head, indicating that the man in front of them was, in fact, the Captain Andropov they'd been instructed to find.

"Dobreye utra," the man said, nodding his head curtly at the two Shinigami. "I am Aleksander Andropov. You are Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, yes?" he inquired, struggling with the pronunciation of the Japanese names.

"Yes," Ichigo managed, taken aback by the foreign language. "We were told to find you so you could—."

"Share with you our schedule, yes?" the captain rumbled. "I was briefed of this matter as well, but you will forgive me for being incapable of understanding our organization's obsession with recruiting the young."

Thewords, spoken like a challenge, felt like a cold blast of air, and a heavy silence permeated the air for a couple of seconds before Ichigo's mind was able to process a response.

"Does it matter how old we are?"

A dangerous glint in the captain's eyes disturbingly reminiscent of Mathis's glare preceded harsh words. "War is no game for little boys and girls to play. And you both smell of infancy."

"We've fought plenty before," Rukia protested. "We know the risks—."

"You have fought _nothing_ like what you will face from this point and on," the captain interjected. "That you claim to know what war is capable of is laughable."

"Aleksander."

Without turning, Captain Andropov responded. "Surely you have told them all this already, Jericho. But still they come."

The silhouette of the elder Jericho came into focus in the cold morning, his disposition dark as usual.

"They wish to protect their home. Surely you of all people would understand such sentiments."

The captain examined the two Shinigami like a hawk would two mice. His scrutiny lasted several seconds, after which he nodded in what seemed like approval, though considering he had basically objected to their accompaniment it would probably have been more tolerance than approval.

"You will wait in the helm until I meet with you. And, to make things very clear before we embark," Andropov said, "Mathis may be the leader of your division, but on my ship, you listen to me. My word and my word alone is law."

With that the captain turned and approached the ship, barking orders. Foreign sailors immediately began scurrying to the ship, with Underworld colleagues and friends in tow.

Mathis watched them for a moment before he turned to face Ichigo and Rukia again. Ichigo wondered aloud, "Is he always that cheery?"

"What remains of his family lives in the outskirts of the Russian tundra, by a remote outpost too far from civilization for safe travel for the elderly or the young. They are under constant pressure by the Legions. It is also where he was born and raised. His cynicism is a result of his circumstances."

Ichigo blanched. "That's the outpost we're going to check out, isn't it?"

"No. But it is within range," Mathis replied. Ichigo understood the meaning behind his words and neglected to press the subject.

He continued, "With that said, I must reiterate: This is not a field trip."

"You are about to descend into a reality far more gruesome than any you've ever known. You say you've fought battles before. Perhaps some of your opponents were powerful. You may have won. You may have even lost. But the fact of the matter is that one way or another, you remain alive and whole. This will not be the case in our conflict."

"This war we fight is nothing like mankind has ever faced before. Our enemy has no code of honor, no warrior's pride, no mercy when it comes to the battlefield. We must not afford them anything in return. If they stand, we must beat them down. If they lie on the ground without defense, we must kick and maim them so they cannot get up. They will do to us the same. A battle won may see hundreds dead. News of a battle lost may not even reach our ears until the enemy is upon our doorstep. "

Mathis turned his eye on Rukia, who met his gaze for a split second before averting her eyes.

"You will lose something in this war. Everyone does. There is a good chance you will return home, if at all, a different man. A different woman."

"This is the only mercy I will ever grant you. If you wish to withdraw from our world, if you wish to stay here and defend Karakura until the end of your days, now is the time to step back. I will not hold a grudge against you, nor will any of our comrades."

Ichigo was about to step forward when a sudden thought hit him. If this conflict was as gruesome and trying as Mathis was making it out to be, there was a good chance that he would be pushed to the point of desperation. If that ever happened—.

"_I HAVE NO NAME!"_

Could he do that? Expose his new allies to what was lurking inside him? Put their entire war effort at risk because he wanted to protect his own family when they were likely trying their hardest to protect hundreds of thousands of their own?

Could he risk Rukia's safety for that?

As if she'd heard his thoughts, Rukia placed a reassuring hand on Ichigo's shoulder. He looked to her and saw resolution. She had faith in him. He'd have to have faith in her to do what was necessary if the time ever came. He looked up at the expectant Mathis.

"We're in."

"_Kale here. All incoming goodie bags are accounted for. Make sure to bring me back a souvenir, Silas."_

"Keep the house tidy and I won't beat you up and down the streets with a signpost, slacker."

"Helmsman. Set course for bearing 1-8-0. Lieutenant. Signal Cloud 9 and alert all hands. We are ready to depart."

"Silas. Keep my sister under watch. Make sure she does not get in the way."

"_Attention, all hands. Prepare for departure. Engine crew, fire up turbines and push reactor to 65%. Give me some forward movement. Gun crew, remain on stand by until further notice. All other personnel clear the deck."_

The helm of the craft was a hive of activity as the crew began to crank up power to the ship's locomotive systems. Vibrations coursed through the craft as somewhere far away, a set of engines began their rotations. Groaning and whining of stressed metal reminded Ichigo a bit of the alien machines from the American film War of the Worlds. The groaning sharpened into an almost unnoticeable thrum that was easier felt than heard. Screens began flashing green lights and the sailors manning their controls clamored to each other in foreign tongue, working quickly to bring the metal behemoth out to sea.

Captain Andropov stood at attention, monitoring the screens of his subordinates and issuing orders every now and then. His words were heeded with rapt attention; not a single sailor wasted time in adjustment when told to alter something at their station. With Andropov's direction, the ship moved at a fast clip, as told by the large screen and the multitude of vantage points it displayed in the center of the helm's farthest wall. A set of outer cameras indicated that they had made good speed away from their docking point, and showed sailors on the deck patrolling between the large guns. For twenty minutes this activity continued, with the helmsman regulating traffic all over the ship with pinpoint precision.

When the digital mission clock on the wall read 10:56, Andropov rumbled as a rasp let his bearded lips.

"Prepare for descent."

The lieutenant snapped a quick "Aye-aye!" before removing a cover from a panel by his station and depressing the red button within.

A klaxon blared three times, and was followed by the lieutenant's voice on the shipwide intercom.

"_Gun crew, make your way down to dive stations. Engine crew, prepare for ballast intake. Set depth for 3-0-0 meters. Sonar shield team, stand by."_

The flurry of activity on the deck subsided as the sailors all descended through hatches into the ship. The gun batteries that they were attending to angled their cannons upward and pulled them into the rotating chassi. They sank into large pits on deck, and panels slid into place over them, sealing the pockets tightly.

After everything ondeck was squared away, the ship began its dive. It was alarming to see a ship sink into the water; Ichigo had never actually been on a large ship before after all, let alone a submarine. Rukia was similarly disturbed by the submarine's sudden dive into the dark blue of the ocean. The screens, which had been displaying bright blue skies and blue water with white crests up until this point, suddenly took on a darker, ghastlier cast. A light blue sheen dominated half of the screens, with a foreboding depth of dark blue filling up the rest. The ship dove further down, and the light blue of the upper ocean faded away, strangled by the dark abyss. Soon, no light remained aside from that of the occasional marine lifeform.

It was offputting, seeing nothing but black on the screens, and Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief when the screens flickered and displayed charts and passive sonar readings on the Captain's order.

"Begin standardized procedures. Follow route 8B to target destination. Resurface in one hour to verify functionality of scopes," the Captain commanded. "Alert me if any unidentified contacts come within torpedo range."

"Aye-aye, Captain."

Andropov turned his piercing gaze on the two Shinigami once his orders were heeded, and motioned for them to follow him. Silas remained in the helm, and Mathis followed them for a few meters before peeling off into another hallway on his own.

The Captain led them to what appeared to be his cabin, unmistakable due to the navigational charts and papers strewn about in the small space.

"Something to protect, eh?" the grizzled old man muttered, easing himself into his chair.

"I'm sorry?" Rukia inquired.

"It is time I filled you in on the basics of your itinerary," Andropov said, brushing aside papers and uncovering a fairly large chart.

"This expedition takes us to a Russian peninsula northeast of Japan. The trip will take six days and ten hours, during which there is a chance for close encounter with the Chinese or the Russians themselves. We may even run into pockets of Legion resistance. Until such occurs, you will both remain in indefinite custody. I would normally assign freeloaders manual labor, but we have enough of that with Mathis's crew onboard. Having you two run around would likely cause more harm than help."

"You are instead assigned to rapid response. In the event that we are under attack, we will surface quickly to minimize possible water intake and to focus the fight ondeck. You will fight off boarders and maintain a perimeter around our sail to prevent any enemy contacts from entering the ship. You are to remain in a room that will be provided during the meantime."

Ichigo interrupted. "We can't make contact with humans, though. Not while we're like this. We're not even sure how you guys can all see us and talk to us."

"And fight with us…" Rukia muttered under her breath, too quiet for either of the male occupants to hear.

Andropov was silent for a moment. He then pulled open a drawer and withdrew a pair of vials with pale blue liquid within.

"Take these. It will allow you to make contact with them should the need arise."

Before either of the Shinigami could ask what the vials contained, Andropov rose to finish the briefing. "Lastly. The most important part."

He pulled the door shut with a dull clunk and returned to his seat. Reaching down below the first drawer, he pulled out a larger receptacle, revealing what looked like an audio recorder covered by a Plexiglas case. The captain removed it from the casing and hit the 'PLAY' button.

From speakers that were likely installed in the room's walls and ceilings to minimize clutter to the clumped space came a static-filled _shhh_. The noise was consistent and soft, like wind blowing through the trees.

Right when Ichigo was about to ask what the hell he was listening to, he heard it. A low-pitched hum that doubled as a whistle, cold and deliberate, chilling to the bone. The tone constantly fluctuated from low to high, and suddenly, after the fourth thrum, Ichigo blinked and found himself underwater. He looked around to see nothing but open ocean around him. Neither Rukia nor Andropov was anywhere to be seen, and no ship of any kind was in sight. The sound persisted, and he shook his head to clear the illusion. He looked around again and froze when he turned to see if there was anything behind him.

A pair of gaping, black eyes locked with his. He couldn't make out the shape of the owner, but his instinct told him it was massi—.

"—re to report immediately to the helm if you hear it," Andropov's voice came back into focus as though someone had adjusted the antennae of an old radio. "That's all you need to know. Follow the man outside. He will take you to your quarters."

Ichigo made to ask the Captain what exactly he'd experienced, but before the words could form in his throat, the Captain hit an intercom and began conversing with a sailor about stable gyroscopes and other naval jargon Ichigo couldn't hope to understand. He turned and followed Rukia and the tall man that awaited them outside the thick cabin door, but couldn't seem to shake the vision of whatever he'd just seen.

Silas was waiting for them in their cramped room, and thanked the sailor who'd guided them. The sailor threw a curt salute and stepped smartly back from where they'd came. Silas motioned for the two to make themselves comfortable and closed the door behind them. Rukia took the top of the two bunks, leaping up with as much agility her slim frame suggested she had. Ichigo plopped down on the bottom bunk, noting how hard it the mattress felt but neglecting to complain. He had other things to be worrying about.

"He's tough to get used to, but you _do_ get used to him after a while. Don't mind him if he begins talking about how children shouldn't be on the battlefield," Silas said, waving his hand like he were shooing away a gnat. "I believe he doesn't like seeing younger men and women fighting because many of his immediate family members are young. I hope you can understand."

"We do," Rukia said. "But you're right; it's going to take us a while to get used to his…personality."

Silas let out a snort. "Did he issue you both your ectoplasm doses?"

"I guess that's what these little vials have in them?" Rukia said, pulling the pale blue vial out of her shihakusho and examining it again. "What does it do?"

Silas took the vial and shook it around a little bit, observing the bubbles that floated up to the top of the liquid. He handed it back to Rukia and explained, "It's the substance that allows us to make contact with entities from other planes."

"Those of us that you've already seen are, for the most part, individuals that have significant ethereal presence. We have powers inherently within us that allow us to interact with other-planar entities and tap into the Realms. This means we are born with ectoplasm within us, and unfortunately I wouldn't be able to tell you how it's maintained in our bodies as we mature, but we know it's produced from a previously unknown part of the pituitary gland. With that knowledge, we're able to produce it on small scale."

"From what we've learned about the substance, we understand that it is the basis for all entities across all planes. It's what links the physical realm to the demonic realm, and, ostensibly, what makes it possible for you to interact with both of our realms. For some reason we don't understand, however, most humans are born with the part of the pituitary that produces ectoplasm disabled. That explains why most of the human population is unable to see or interact with spirits. And many of the Underworld's operatives are born like this."

"Thankfully, because we are able to produce the substance, we can help those who do not have it within their bodies gain ethereal presence. Exposure to a small amount of ectoplasm causes humans to gain the ability to sense spiritual entities, and, to a lesser extent, see and interact with them. Exposure to a significant amount of ectoplasm allows physical contact to be made between entities of differing planes, and concentrated ectoplasm, like what you both possess, allows permanent, full contact to be made."

"How have we not found this before?" Rukia wondered aloud.

Silas's reply was humble and concise. "You are a spiritual sect generally limited to East Asian culture. One of many different aspects of the spiritual plane. It is likely that there are aspects about the different planes we live in that you know of about which we are still ignorant. There is still much to be learned."

Rukia turned the vial over in her hands and asked, "How do we apply this…ectoplasm?"

"That is why I am here, actually," Silas said matter-of-factly. "May I?" he reached for both vials.

With both vials in his hands, he murmured, "Mass, Glaciate."

Water materialized in the vial and formed a film around the ectoplasm, withdrawing it from its containers. The film then changed shape to to that of a syringe and froze solid, creating two makeshift needles.

"Please apply this to wherever you are comfortable. Once you've administered the ectoplasm, allow the needle to melt normally in the sink," Silas instructed, handing the needles to the Shinigami and pocketing the now-empty vials.

"You use the Aspect of Water?" Rukia asked, a note of admiration and slight envy coloring her words.

"Oh? You know the specifics of the Realms?" the young man asked, raising his eyebrows.

"A little. Mathis told me about it and now—."

The conversation faded away as Ichigo focused his attention elsewhere. The giant silhouette from his vision earlier clouded his mind, and the eyes…_those damn eyes_ _wouldn't leave him alone_. Like they wanted something from him. Scrutinizing him so expectantly, with so much meaning behind their black glaze.

"—_end."_

"Kurosaki."

"_The tr—."_

"Ichigo?"

He snapped out of the trance, and the maddening voice suddenly ceased. Both Silas and Rukia were staring at him intently. Strangely enough, however, he noticed that they were no longer in the cabin, but in what looked like a cafeteria. A mess hall.

"You've been rather quiet lately, Kurosaki Ichigo. Is something the matter?"

"How long have I—," he began, confusion overtaking him.

"_Op—r mind."_

_What the hell just happened?_

_What did I just see?_

_What did it say to me?_

Turning to Rukia, he asked, "When did we get here?"

She blinked.

"We've been here for twenty minutes discussing our next move, Ichigo. Quit spacing out," she said reproachfully.

"But we were just in the cabin!" he said forcefully. "Silas had just finished telling us how ectoplasm or whatever it was worked!"

Alarm crossed Silas's face. "Kurosaki. Have you had any visions of open sea? Heard a voice that you'd never hea—."

_OPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPEN YOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOUR MINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMIND OPENYOURMINDOPEN YOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOUR MINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMIND OPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPEN YOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOUR MIND OPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPEN YOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOUR MINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMIND OPENYOURMINDOPEN YOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOUR MINDOPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMIND OPENYOURMINDOPENYOURMINDOPEN _

Ichigo clutched his head as a deafening chorus of voices bombarded him over and over again. He was vaguely aware of Rukia holding his arm and shaking him, calling his name repeatedly. Silas too.

But the voice was overpowering. He couldn't hear them over—.

"—igo! Snap out of it!"

"What's wrong with that dude? He eat something funny?"

"Kurosaki, what's wrong?"

"You think he's getting claustrophia? It happens to first-timers."

The voices were gone. He could hear normally again.

But more importantly…

He could hear _it_.

The humming. The shrill drone. He could hear it.

"Boy. Can you hear it?" the gruff voice of Andropov emanated from behind him.

At the Captain's words, everything fell completely silent.

"…Yes."

A sharp intake of air resounded from the Russian.

"Ningen."


	15. The Madness

**Been a while since I've last updated. Not much to say about this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know what you think of the story so far in your reviews!**

**Mood Music: Shiro Sagisu – Princess in Captivity**

**A requiem**

**Here to Stay**

**Chapter 15 – Madness **

****A/N: For those of you who do not know what the word Ningen means in Japanese, it means 'human.'****

Not three seconds after Captain Andropov had uttered the Japanese word an unfamiliar alarm blared in every region of the ship. All sailors and Underworld Personnel stopped what they were doing when they heard it, and after a couple seconds of processing the sound, commotion broke out as they scrambled to their stations.

Ichigo remained kneeling, still cradling his head in pain.

"Ichigo! What's wrong?" Rukia shook him quickly, as if to snap him out of his trance. His only response was a series of grunts and groans.

Silas, who had been standing idly for the past few seconds, regained his senses and took Rukia by the arm, rushing out of the mess hall. "Leave him. There is nothing we can do for him now except deal with the Ningen."

"The human?" Rukia interjected, confused.

Before Silas could answer, a loud _BANG_ rocked the submarine, sending the two of them tumbling and knocking several other nearby sailors off of their feet. As Rukia got to her feet shakily, she heard a familiar hum and recognized it immediately as the sound that Captain Andropov had played for her and Ichigo a few days prior.

"Was that it?" she asked.

"Indeed. Ningen."

He signaled for two Underworld units to take Ichigo away, likely to a med-bay to recuperate. Even as they threw his arms around their shoulders and hoisted him away at a brisk pace, he groaned and hurled his head around wildly like a man possessed.

Silas turned to Rukia. "To the bridge. I will explain as we go."

The ship was so expansive that Silas had plenty of time to explain what he was talking about as they ran to the helm. As they hurtled through the shafts and dodged sailors and Underworld soldiers, Silas enlightened the Shinigami.

"Ningen. It was first discovered by Japanese sailors, but was quickly discounted as an urban legend due to a combination of scarcity of evidence and skepticism. Despite several eyewitness accounts , the existence of Ningen continued to remain a non-issue, and slowly it phased out of the public eye."

"Why is it called human?"

Silas narrowly dodged a pair of sonar technicians as they moved from one room to another. "When the Japanese first saw it, they described it as having unnervingly human traits. Arms, legs, hands, even facial features. All eyewitness accounts, even if they had never heard of the legend, described the beast as bearing uncanny resemblances to humans."

"So it's a water demon? It's strange that the Legions would dedicate some of their forces exclusively to—."

"No," Silas interjected. "Not demon. An Old One."

Rukia glanced at Silas for a moment before training her eyes on the winding corridors before her. "What's an 'Old One?'"

"They're beings older than anything we've ever met. We believe they even predate the earliest known demon, Lucifer. Theory has it that they were the first beasts created by the omnipotent entity that oversees all. You call Him the Soul King. We call Him God."

"Remember the Weavers?" Silas said as he ducked through a hatch and grabbed Rukia to keep her from running past him on the stairs. "They're one of the Old Ones as well. What's important to know is that the Old Ones, as their name suggests, are incredibly old, and immeasurably powerful, and are demi-gods like the Weavers. Ningen is the one known as Leviathan, the King of the Sea."

Rukia cursed under her breath. "Then how do we kill gods? Surely there's a plan behind all of this scrambling?"

Silas barked, eliciting a strange look from Rukia. She then realized that he'd just released a mirthless laugh. "Kill Ningen? We can't."

"Then what—."

"Evasive maneuvers. Ningen is a massive creature, so we can lose him in underwater spires. Our weapons can stall him momentarily as well. As long as he doesn't ram us and cause excessive damage to our hull, we can escape with minimal to no casualties. Our only problem is the pressure from the depth at which we'll find the spires. The deeper we go, the weaker our hull becomes to potential attack. So everyone is moving to their stations in the event that our hull is breached. They will seal off any breached sections of the ship and serve as damage control."

As Silas's explanations drew to an end, the two skidded to a halt in front of the helm's access hatch. Silas rapped the door smartly as he entered, earning him the Captain's attention. "Just in time. We are preparing to dive to spire depth. We may need your rapid response in case of hull breach."

He scanned both Silas and Rukia before looking around them, searching for something.

"Where is the other—?"

"Captain! Spire depth has been attained, but there is insufficient landscape to evade Ningen in!"

"Push throttle to 80% and arm torpedo pods. Continue course until the landscape changes. Standby for torpedo launch command," Andropov immediately responded, forgetting his initial query.

A chorus of affirmatives left the sailors before they were drowned out by a single, low thrum. Andropov, without missing a beat, bellowed, "EVASIVE MANEUVERS!"

Too late. A deafening _crunch_ followed by a jarring lurch sent Rukia careening into the wall behind her. Silas, who had also been knocked off-kilter by the collision, managed to catch her before she hit the floor, earning a murmur of gratitude from Rukia, who felt disoriented.

A second collision, indicated this time by a deep _boom_, was stronger than the last, but both Rukia and Silas had braced themselves this time around, and were able to weather the shockwave that followed. Alarms blared at several stations, and the sailors manning them worked frantically to stifle them, issuing orders and reassuring injured sailors through the comm.

"Status on torpedos?" the Captain barked, seemingly unfazed by the titanic tremors that had just rippled through his ship.

"Pods 1 through 4 have been armed and are awaiting launch command, Captain!"

"Launch 1 and 2 immediately."

"Launching!"

A moderately high tone echoed through the helm, indicating that the underwater arms had been successfully launched. A few seconds later, incessant beeping at another station prompted the sailor manning it to call out: "1 and 2 confirmed hit on Ningen!"

"Launch 3 and 4 now. All other pods await launch command. Course correction, 0-7-5."

As the Russian man conducted the sailors' actions effortlessly, Rukia stood by and watched, dumbfounded. It was only a few days ago that she'd learned of 'submarines', and now, she was in the forefront of the ship while it was engaged in a naval battle against a mythological creature that wasn't even supposed to exist. If someone had told her a week ago that this was going to happen, she would never have even given it a second thought.

She was snapped out of her incredulity by a particularly loud crunch, thrown off her feet and into Silas, who grunted as he too was sent flying by the impact. A shrill alarm assailed their ears, and a panicked voice rang out form one of the control stations.

"Captain! Shielding in foreward bulkhead has failed! Emergency shielding is offl—."

NONEOFYOULISTENNOTASINGLEONEWHYWONTYOULISTENJUSTLI STENWEWISHYOUWOULDLISTENOPENYOUREARSOPENYOURMINDLE TUSINLETUSINLETUSINLETUSINLETUSINLETUSINLETUSINLET USIN

A cacophony of voices suddenly erupted in Rukia's head, forcing her to her knees and causing her to clutch her head.

"Wh—what the hell is—that sound?!" she grunted, struggling to get her words out past the deafening deluge of thoughts.

"Goddammit…you hear it as well? I guess I'm not surprised."

She turned and squinted at Silas, who was similarly cradling his skull. He seemed more used to the sound, however, and was even able to rise to his feet. He hooked his free arm beneath her armpit and hoisted her jup.

"It's Ningen…It's capable of telepathy. Normally the ship has a layer of protective alloy within its hull plating that blocks out psychic emanations, but if the hull is breached…so is that shield."

LETUSIN

"Ningen is a powerful entity…It has survived for thousands of millennia…To him, we are but insects…and to us…his thoughts are…overwhelming," Silas explained haltingly. He clutched his head and panted, the pain clearly reflected in his expression.

If the Russian standing next to him was in any pain, however, Rukia could not tell, as his face was still twisted into a gruff scowl.

"All able crew members, sound off."

Without fail, each sailor straightened despite the obvious pain wracking their senses and called out their service tags, earning a curt nod of approval from Captain Andropov. "Have Team Delta perform emergency response. If we can't re-establish the shield, we're dead in the water."

The old man murmured under his breath loud enough for Rukia to hear. "Would be good to have Mathis with us."

Rukia wanted to ask where Mathis was, but the voices of Ningen wouldn't stop their tirade, and she found that she couldn't process her thoughts properly. This continued for several minutes, as the Captain and his able sailors worked furiously to mend the broken shield layer or whatever it was Silas had been trying to describe to her.

Suddenly Rukia felt a blast of familiar reiatsu emanate from somewhere in the ship. In it was a strange mix of agony and foreign energy.

_Ichigo._ She turned her head to look down the hatch, feeling for his presence despite the discord in her mind. The turbulence in his reiatsu persisted for a couple of seconds, before it slipped back into its normal state.

ITISDONEWEHAVEDONEITWEARESUCCESSFULWEHAVETOUCHEDTH EMADNESSTHEPATHISSETYOUAREREADYYOUAREREADYTHETREEA WAITS

With that final outburst, the voices suddenly stopped, and Rukia felt lighter, in control of her body again.

"What's it playing at…?" Andropov growled, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Delta hasn't even finished shield repairs."

"Ningen is leaving, Captain! Sonar reports confirm departure from torpedo range," the helmsman listened intently to what was coming through his headset. He then looked up at the Captain and whispered, awe-struck, "It's gone."

Despite any misgivings the Captain may have had about the situation, he didn't miss a beat. "Damage report. I want all hull breaches repaired and accounted for. Inform me of all high-priority damages within ten minutes."

Without even bothering to hear the response of his helmsman, he turned to Silas and asked, "Where are they?"

"I do not know of Mathis's whereabouts. But Kurosaki Ichigo is likely still in the medbay."

Andropov strode forward and glanced at Rukia, a meaningful look in his eye.

"It seems your friend is more than meets the eye."

* * *

Ichigo felt the men on either side of him pull him through hatch after hatch, occasionally hearing snatches of frantic conversation and feeling concussions rock the ship. Most of his thinking, however, was directed to the deafening thoughts that were coursing through his head and the flashing visions of deep ocean that pervaded his sight.

YOUMUSTLISTENLISTENYOUMUSTHEARUSSTOPRESISTINGLISTE NTOUSLISTENTOOURWORDS

Ichigo screamed as another jolt of pain lanced through his cranium, causing his two stewards to double their pace. Everything felt cold, but the cold was a strangely familiar sensation. Like he was back…

…underwater.

Ichigo opened his eyes. The water was deep blue, and chilled him to the bone. He shuddered and tore Zangetsu from its cloth sheath, waiting for the great white beast to appear before him again.

He spun around and whipped his head back and forth, eyeballs spinning in their sockets as he tried to find the marine assailant.

CAN YOU HEARHEAR OUR VOICE OUR VOICE

More agonizing bolts of pain ripped into his skull, but the discord of the voices before was considerably clearer. A single voice dominated the rest, deep and echoing. An air of absolute authority permeated the voice's bass thrums.

He turned for the last time and saw the huge beast in its entirety in the distance, floating before him. Its skin was white, shimmering in fingers of dim light that reached down from the surface. Its fins were long and thin, ending in what looked like five fingers or feathers that made them look more like wings or hands than fins. They connected directly with the top of the beast, made to look like a head thanks to the two gaping black eyes in its body just below where the fins met the body and a wide slit for a mouth. The fins that protruded from the lowest point of the gargantuan's body looked normal, albeit large and ghost-like, with tattered wisps of skin trailing from their ends.

ANSWER US

Ichigo stepped back warily, answering, "Yes."

OUR VOICE HAS TOUCHED YOU

YOU MUST HEAR OUR MESSAGE

HIS INSANITY WILL NOT HEED US

THE TREE IS THE END

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo demanded. "What tree? What insanity?"

YOUR MADNESS LISTENS

HIS INSANITY DOES NOT

THE TREE IS THE END

"What end?!" Ichigo bellowed. "Explain yourself! You've been digging in my head for the past 20 minutes! Don't give me your stupid riddles!"

WE SPEAK PLAINLY

YOU DO NOT HEAR US

THE TREE IS THE END

IT WILL KEEP THE INSANITY AT BAY

HE WILL HEAR US THEN

"I keep telling you to be clearer!" Ichigo roared, swinging Zangetsu through the water and sending a plume of reiatsu towards the creature.

When he saw the blue flare of energy fizzle out uselessly after travelling a few meters, he felt despair as deep as the blue abyss they were in coil its icy fingers around his chest.

IMPUDENT

All at once the cacophony returned and blasted through Ichigo's mind, though the voices had turned into unintelligible screams and shrieks, causing him to drop Zangetsu and writhe in agony. The pain split him down head to toe and sewed him back up, only to rip him into millions of pieces again. He smelled light and tasted colors, saw sounds and felt odor. His senses were so scrambled that he couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down, and the pain began to feel like euphoria for a moment before he came crashing down to his normal self again, hacking and coughing as he tried to regain his bearings.

AMUSING

HEED OUR WORDS

HIS INSANITY WILL RAMPAGE

BRING IT TO THE TREE

THE TREE IS THE END

As the final dregs of pain were flushed from Ichigo's consciousness, he became aware of a soft sensation at his back. The blue of the sea slowly brightened, and the great silhouette of the unfathomable beast faded away, as did the gaze of the beast's pitch black eyes.

He suddenly felt a wave of nausea strike him hard in the gut, and turned to retch into a pail set by the side of the cot he had been placed on. The wave of queasiness swept out of his system with a few coughs, and he rolled back onto the cot to ponder the meaning of the creature's words.

"What's the tree nonsense it was spouting…?" he wondered aloud.

"A tree, you say?"

Ichigo wearily looked to identify the speaker and saw Silas in the doorway. He ducked through the hatch and stood by the cot, followed by Rukia and Captain Andropov.

"Mr. Kurosaki," Andropov intoned, expression inscrutable. "You heard Ningen before any of us did. You were incapacitated from the very start. Something tells me that you came into contact with Ningen."

Silas whipped his head to gape at the captain. "With Ningen? But how—."

"Ningen is impossible to comprehend for most of us. But some," the grizzled Russian rumbled, "are crazy enough to be on the same wavelength with it."

"I…I didn't _try_ to talk to it," Ichigo breathed. "It just…happened. I even tried to fight it off."

Alarm crossed Silas's and Andropov's faces. "You WHAT?"

"I tried to—."

"We heard you the first time, Kurosaki. We were simply expressing our complete and UTTER shock that you would try something as foolish as engaging with a being infinitely greater than you in power and knowledge. You're lucky to have all your mental faculties intact," Silas said rebukefully.

With a cough, Ichigo protested. "Look, all I'm saying is that it talked to me, not the other way around. It just kept telling me to bring the insanity to the tree."

"I am not accusing you, boy. There's no need to be on guard. I know well that what happened was woefully out of your control. But it seems that you have a bit of madness in you, Mr. Kurosaki. And I don't know if I can trust you or not at this point."

_Madness_.

The word sent chills down Ichigo's spine.

"What do you mean, madness?" Rukia asked, an accusative tone snaking its way through her words. "I can vouch for Ichigo's complete sanity—."

"Ningen can only converse with a person with some measure of madness within them. All others are incapacitated or killed," Andropov said matter-of-factly. "This is not my opinion, it is a simple fact."

_Madness._

_I have no name._

"I think I know what it meant by madness," Ichigo said, massaging his temples.

"As do I," the Russian captain said. "Will it threaten my ship or crew?"

"Unless you try to kill me, no."

"We will be in such life-and-death situations the moment we make port. Can you guarantee everyone's safety from you then?"

Ichigo's silence prompted Rukia to answer, "I can."

Surprise was evident on Andropov's face. "Is that so?"

Silas also spoke up. "If in fact the madness you refer to is the violent spirit that Ichigo houses, then I can vouch for Miss Kuchiki. She has undergone training for such a possibility and will be ready to deal with said situation. As will I."

Ichigo looked over at Rukia, who wouldn't meet his gaze, as though she had done something very wrong and was ashamed. He placed the tips of his fingers on her hand. She jerked a little at his clammy touch, but the gesture had its intended effect. Her eyes met his, and he saw in her eyes guilt, likely because she had shared his secret and that she thought she was betraying him by seeking help from others.

With a rasp, Ichigo asked, "I'd like to talk to Rukia alone."

"Very well. Silas, I am needed at the bridge. Locate Mathis. His assistance will speed up repairs greatly."

"Understood, Captain."

The two men strode out and left the two Shinigami in silence. Rukia had averted her eyes again, and Ichigo's gestures did not gain her attention again. The silence lasted for a few moments before Ichigo finally broke the stagnant air.

"Rukia—."

She suddenly began blabbering, letting words flow out as though floodgates had been thrown wide. "I'm sorry. I shoudn't have said anything. I trust you, I hope you know that. It's just that I wanted a safety net. I couldn't stand by idly and—."

"_Rukia._"

She stopped and looked at him with a pitiful expression on her face. Coupled with her demeanor on the morning of their departure, Ichigo couldn't help but think of a lost puppy.

"For someone who's a hundred years older than I am, you're really easy to read," he said, smiling weakly.

"What?"

"I hope you realize I don't care about what you did. You told them about my…problem, right?"

She nodded.

"And you trained with them or something?"

She nodded again.

"And now you feel like you betrayed me because your actions say 'I don't believe in his ability to control himself,' huh?"

"That's not…"

"Rukia."

She shuffled her feet and fumbled with her hands, unsure of how to hold herself.

"I just…"

Ichigo waited patiently, still smiling. _She's cute when she's on the spot. I should do this more often._

He was surprised at how casually he'd thought of that, and was even more surprised at how ok he was with it. Odd.

"You've always been protecting me even when we first met. You took my place when my powers were gone. You fought for and saved me from execution in Soul Society. You risked your safety for me when we were fighting Mathis and didn't know yet if he was friend or foe."

"You're always in front of me, taking the hits for me, doing the dirty work for me. I'm tired of seeing your back, Ichigo. Spying on the Underworld is something you'll probably help me with again, but your Hollow problem is something I couldn't do in my state. I still don't know if I can as I am now. But I want to fight next to you, not behind you."

"Ok then."

Rukia looked flabbergasted at Ichigo's simple answer.

"…'Ok then?' Can't you be a little more serious?"

"I am. I'm ok with you wanting to fight by me. That is, if you can keep up," Ichigo said jokingly. "If you're so sick of seeing my back, you'll have to really run forward, because I'm going to do my best to always be in front of you."

Rukia slapped his arm in response, a flush of red on her face. "Don't make fun of me."

"Don't be mad, Rukia. I'm glad you feel that way, but I want to be protecting you. I'm glad you feel like you're always behind me, because it means I can count on someone always having my back."

Rukia couldn't help but smile a little at that, and her blush became more pronounced.

YOUSLYDOG

Ichigo shook his head violently at the sudden intrusion. It was definitely that thing again. Or at least he thought he heard it. Rukia looked alarmed at the sudden movement, and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I think…never mind, I'm alright."

He thought as hard as he could, _GET OUT OF MY HEAD._

There was no response, which didn't really surprise him.

He then became aware of the miniscule contact that his hand was making with hers, which suddenly electrified his entire left arm. This proved to be too much for him on top of the strange observation of Rukia he'd made earlier and he decided it was time to be alone. It took all the strength he had left to pull his arm away, feigning discomfort and covering his eyes.

"I think I need to rest a bit. That monster or whatever it was did a number on me," he groaned.

He heard Rukia say, "Alright. Let me know if I can help with anything." He felt her pat his leg reassuringly, before running her hand along his leg and turning to leave. It took all Ichigo had not to shudder at the buzz that ran up his body from the point of contact, and once Rukia had finally left the room, he let out the breath he'd been unconsciously holding.

"What the hell am I thinking?" he groaned to himself before rolling over and grumbling to himself into the cot's standard issue pillow.

* * *

Rukia felt like she could walk on air. The memories Clarity had shown her of Mathis's dark past and her request for help with Ichigo's Hollow a few days back had been bogging her down for so long that hearing the words Ichigo had said was a godsend. Suddenly the weight on her shoulders had been lifted, and the corrosive recollection of young Mathis's scream was pushed to the back of her mind.

It did disturb her, however, that just a few words from the young man was enough to drastically improve her mood and more. The hand that had made contact with Ichigo's hand earlier was a bundle of nerves all of a sudden, and was hypersensitive. The slightest contact with the metal hatches sent cold lancing up her arm like lightning.

She remembered how the night before she and Ichigo had shared with each other their respective issues she had felt hot and flustered after Ichigo said something to her. If she were to factor that in with her strange elation now…

_NO! Stop, stop, stop. He's a human and I'm a Shinigami. It would never work out_, she thought to herself frantically. _I'm a hundred and some years and he's barely 17. Wait, why does that even—._

She shook her head to stifle any further thought on the matter, and caught a glimpse of Silas out of the corner of her eye. She ducked into a hatch to hide, and slowly suppressed her reiatsu in a way that made it seem like she was walking away from them. From her hiding spot, she found she could hear just about everything that was said between them.

"Are you ok, Mathis? We can discuss this later if you aren't feeling up to it."

"I am fine. Ningen's voice was difficult to blot out."

"As I was saying, Kurosaki Ichigo made mental contact with Ningen."

"And?"

"I believe Ningen may have mentioned you in a manner of speaking."

"…Do they know?"

"I assume they do not."

"Good. We will keep it that way. As for you, eavesdropper…"

Mathis's last words alarmed Rukia and prompted her to back up further into the hatch, but a burst of booming static alerted her to Mathis's presence in the room with her.

"I see no point in hiding it from you who laid bare my past on a whim."

Rukia demanded, "What are you talking about?"

"The insanity Kurosaki Ichigo mentioned refers to…something within me."

"I gathered as much," Rukia said warily. "What exactly is 'it,' though? What will bringing you to the tree do?"

"That is all you need to know, and all I am willing divulge. In the meantime, you should improve on your espionage skills. I could sense you bumbling around the moment you stepped through the hatch."

Rukia huffed as Mathis stepped out of the room and rejoined Mathis, resuming conversation but suddenly sounding muffled. He'd likely put up a barrier of some sort to restrict sound from reaching Rukia. She let out a _tsk_ of annoyance before leaving the room and heading towards their room.

By the time she'd reached the room she'd passed dozens of technicians and sailors working furiously to repair busted pipes, sprung leaks, and, in one case, a breached portion of the bulkhead. It had been somewhat frightening, considering they were deep in the ocean, but also comical how the miniscule crack was squirting a high-pressure stream of water at the flustered sailors tending to it. She'd offered to help, but she couldn't understand their language, and even if she could, it was likely that she'd not understand due to the water that was filling the unfortunate sailors' mouths any time they opened their mouths. An Underworld soldier came to their rescue, bending the water to his will and stifling the leak momentarily as the sailors worked to seal the crack.

She plopped down on the top bunk and lay still. Mathis's insult stuck with her, causing her discomfort due to the nature of the mission Soul Society had assigned her. So far she had gleaned little to no information about the Underworld aside from the large-scale scope of its operations and a little bit about their enemy, which she had already shared via Ichigo's obtained recorder. Everything else was merely conjecture or opinion; no hard facts presented themselves.

Most disturbing was Mathis's confession to the insanity. If the madness within Ichigo signified his inner Hollow, did that mean Mathis had something in him like that? The nature of the word insanity and its implications were unsettling, and Rukia couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible lurked within Mathis. She remembered the foreign entity that had forcibly ejected her from Mathis's memories when she had used Clarity. Perhaps it referred to the spirit that Mathis had formed his contract with, which was no less worrisome; Rukia's impression of the spirit had been that of absolute authority and otherworldly strength.

She pushed the theories to the back of her head and tried to relax. Today had been a very trying day, and some sleep was a welcome venture. Hopefully it would help her settle down after dealing with the mythical demi-god's mental tirade and her emotional confusion.

But her dreams were plagued with recollections of Mathis's dark past and visions of Ichigo being taken over by a white, ivory-like material, screaming a feral roar. Trees of varying sizes sprouted around her throughout the course of the nightmare, and she would be impaled by one of their branches before being brought back to wakefulness. She woke several times, panting and sweating, premonitions of danger lingering with her as she fell back asleep and back into the nightmarish loop. She had a feeling Ichigo's visions in his sleep were similar to this, and that perhaps her exposure to Clarity and Ningen had somehow awakened visions within her as well.

She hoped to heaven that they were simply nightmares and not glimpses of what was to come.


	16. Whispers of the Shade

**Hey y'all. A slightly longer update this time around, but not my best work, in my opinion. I hope you guys don't find it terribad or anything, but if you find anything that's not quite to your liking, drop a review and help me out. I would very much appreciate it. And even if you didn't find anything off about this chapter, let me know anyways; even a 'I like your story.' is immensely motivating. Thanks for following along, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Mood Music**

**Shiro Sagisu – Enemy Unseen**

**Phenomena**

**Chapter 16 – Whispers of the Shade**

The next few days passed without much incident. A single isolated incident of pirate attack was all that marred the remaining time for their voyage to shore. Rukia found Captain Andropov to be nearly as brutal as Mathis, as he ordered his men to execute all of the pirates even though they had surrendered. His men had not hesitated at the command, and the Underworld troops had barely batted eyelashes at the carnage that followed. When asked, Silas explained that the Underworld not only had a low tolerance for those that operated outside of the law for material gain, the secrecy of their existence was very high priority, and necessitated even the most extreme measures to guarantee safety. While on land this was an easily enforced requirement, it would have been rather difficult to keep some renegade from spilling the beans on the submarine full of armed men and women the next time he made port.

Grisly necessities aside, Rukia found that the harbor they arrived at was far more…empty than she expected. While she understood that secrecy was vital for the Underworld, she had expected more than the single concrete tube that they'd entered. The inside was dilapidated, with next to no indication of human touch for at least a decade, though the doors and stairs did bear hints of wear and tear. Perhaps it was made to look abandoned to dispel any suspicions.

Transferring the supplies from the submarine to a series of Jeeps was a simple affair, expedited by various telekinetic abilities and the sharpness of the Underworld's members. Rukia constantly found herself in awe of their professionalism, despite the fact that some of them looked almost as young as Ichigo. Orders were instantly carried out, and work was efficiently distributed to minimize time lapse. While Soul Society's Thirteen Court Squads were indeed professional, their efficiency was nowhere near a match for the Underworld's.

"Most of them were brought up in the care of the Underworld. Orphans that had to survive in the streets until we found them, soldiers that couldn't sit by idly as neighbors were killed by Legion troops, even politicians that tried to bring about unpopular change so as to combat demonic advance are a part of our cause," Silas explained when Rukia asked how members of the Underworld worked together so easily. "We are, in essence, an enormous family. Our power lies not in numbers, but in our bonds. Surely you must understand this, what with the bond you share with Kurosaki."

She chose not to pursue the subject any further after seeing the smile tugging at the corners of Silas's mouth.

Icihgo had remained in medical care for the past few days, after discovering that his control of his body had indeed been stunted by Ningen's mental assault. His left arm would not fully listen to him, possessed by occasional bouts of spasmodic twitching, and it seemed that one of his lungs was not taking in enough air. Rukia had elected not to visit him with her strange mentality lingering in the back of her mind. It was hard enough ignoring the thoughts without him around; having him at arm's-length would no doubt exacerbate her…attachment to him.

She couldn't for the life of her come to terms with this strange feeling. She dared not give it a name, afraid that acknowledging its existence would prolong the symptoms or worse, make them permanent. She had never felt this way about anyone before, not in a hundred years. All the fluff that clouded her judgment was not something she was used to, and she mostly wanted to swat it away. But the small yet overwhelming part of her that was generating it persisted, spreading the emotion like poison.

She wanted so badly to snuff it out, especially with the slew of dangerous tasks set before her, but had given up in trying to rid herself of it, resorting to simply stowing it away in the back of her mind. More than once, however, she caught herself _enjoying_ the sensation, reveling in its scent. And each time she did she sought sanctuary in the forests that flanked the beaten road they traveled.

And one day, when she left the convoy as the Underworld was resting, she ran into Mathis.

It hadn't occurred to her that Mathis was not around the vehicles as much as she thought he was. Her preoccupation with the issue of Ichigo and her task of espionage had completely thrown her for a loop. Too often she was jarred back to reality by a small skirmish against a handful of Minors or Raiders. So when she felt the heavy, unfamiliar energy radiate from a secluded plain just beyond the stretch of trees, she remembered why they were here.

Mathis did not even grace her with a quick glance, focusing completely on the art of his form. The aura he emanated was nowhere near as venomous as it had been that night when she'd accidentally probed his past, but still had a substantial presence. It was heavier and darker than it usually was, but still within a range that did not instill worry in her.

Rukia was impressed with how completely taken he was with his execution, despite the fact he had no visible enemy. The chains flowing from his metal bandages snaked through the air with deceptive elegance, occasionally kicking up waves of snow and ice. Each time the white particles rocketed up from the ground, Mathis swung his blades blindingly fast, clearing the air around him completely. And he would do it again and again, changing his methods bit by bit at a time, modifying a swing here and there into a jab, pulling down instead of stabbing up, constantly evolving in his craft.

Rukia's sixth sense tingled, and she reflexively drew her sword to parry a strike from Mathis himself, who had appeared behind her.

She cracked a satisfied grin. "You're not going to catch me off guard that easily."

"Sufficient," Mathis said, retracting his chains. "It seems you have improved."

"Your brutal training saw to that."

Mathis nodded his head, unapologetic. "Given the chance, I would be as vicious as I was then, if not more so."

"I know. I think I understand," Rukia said.

The two stood there for a moment before Mathis asked, "Shall we dance?"

Wordlessly, Rukia leapt down into the plain and held her sword at the ready.

Mathis strode down from the elevated treeline and materialized his chain-link spear as he walked, slowly swinging the weapon around him and kicking up plumes of snow. His tempo sped up the closer he got to Rukia, who bent her knees to prepare for his attack.

A blast of air erupted from the point of contact between their weapons, and their duel began. Now that she had somewhat stabilized and the memories that she'd stolen a glimpse of were tucked away in the back of her mind, Rukia found that she was able to somewhat keep up with Mathis's movements this time more than she had the first.

The aura emanating from Mathis remained heavy but lacked the biting edge that it had the last time they'd met blades. His physical presence was no less overbearing, but Rukia no longer felt like she was fighting in a volcano. She let a feral grin twist her mouth as the dance raged on, enjoying the primal rush that it brought her and reveling in the challenge it brought her. Gone were her troubles of espionage. Gone were the troubling feelings for the human boy. Here it was just her and her opponent, her and her partner.

Her adrenaline-fueled euphoria melted away when she heard the whispers in her head.

_I want to play with you, little girl. I want to hear you SCREAM!_

The words threw Rukia off her rhythm and resulted in her upswing to move much faster than she'd intended. And there could not have been a worse time to do so. Mathis's normally expressionless countenance suddenly contorted with pain as something caused his defensive swing to stop short of Rukia's attack. He fell to a knee, clutching his head with a free hand. By now Rukia couldn't pull back even if she wanted to, and her bladetip was but an inch from Mathis's chest.

Before the sharp blade made contact with Mathis, however, a deafening boom resounded in the snow dunes, slightly muffled by the snow drifts that were accumulated by the treelines. Rukia felt her Zanpakuto spang off something hard and stumbled backward, coming to a shaky stop a few feet from Mathis's kneeling form. She looked up to catch a quick glimpse of a strange and massive black shape fading into nothingness, with a strange gold sigil etched in its center. When it disappeared completely, she looked down at Mathis, who appeared concerned, breathing deeply to calm himself. He met her gaze, and Rukia saw in them a strange worry. He looked as though someone had just told him the Earth was about to explode.

_No need to get anxious, darling…All in due time._

The voice in her head cackled and tapered off into silence, leaving both Rukia and Mathis silent in the white tundra.

Rukia found herself alarmed by the voice's intrusion and Mathiis's uncharacteristic worry.

Mathis was the first to break the silence. "What did you hear?"

"I…I don't know," Rukia stammered. "Just something about happening in due time."

Mathis furrowed his brow and rose to his feet. His weapon jangled as it reshaped itself and retracted itself into his bandages. Tersely, he said, "We're finished here," before turning on a heel and striding towards the convoy.

Rukia leapt forward and grasped Mathis's arm gently, surprised by the unyielding texture of the bandaging around it. Mathis stopped but did not turn around.

"Let go," he commanded.

Rukia kept her grip on his arm and walked in front of him to see his face. His expression had gone back to its normal stoic cast, and he seemed irritated by her touch.

"Why do you men always do that?" Rukia wondered aloud, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Mathis. "You always lock things up behind a tough face, like you're afraid to show the world who you really are. Can't you rely on anyone?"

"No. How would one rely on someone who can barely hold her own in combat?" Mathis replied snidely.

"There it is again," Rukia admonished him. "You don't have to pretend around me, Mathis. I know what happened to you, for better or for worse. And if you can't bring yourself to confide in me, a stranger that knows your past, why can't you confide in Sarah? She's family, for crying out loud."

"Are you mad? Burden that child with my own problems?" Mathis asked incredulously. "It is already bad enough that she must deal with the darkness of the Underworld's business that I need not add to her worries."

"She's family, Mathis. Family is there for you no matter what—," Rukia tried to explain, but stopped as Mathis released a pulse of detectable fury.

"I will not have you lecture me about family, Kuchiki Rukia. Not after you put your comrade's family at risk the way you did that night."

"That's why you dislike me so strongly, isn't it?" she snapped back. "Because I started that fight?"

"You are a fool if you believe that is the reason I find fault with you."

"Why don't you just tell me, then?"

"Why must I explain something so simple?"

"Because I can't read your mind, dammit!" Rukia yelled, frustration spilling over before she could bite her tongue. "I can't think the same things you do! You think you can just brush these things off without a word and expect everyone to know exactly how to behave around you, but you can't! I'm not a mind reader, Mathis! No one is! Have you _seen_ how Sarah looks at you? She cares, Mathis. She wants to be a part of your life but she can't figure out how to do that without feeling like a burden!"

Mathis gazed back at her silently, which prompted Rukia to continue.

"I know you lost your parents, Mathis. I can't argue with you if you tell me it tore you up and made you a different person because I experienced a small part of it myself and barely came out unscathed. But you still have Sarah. You have Kale and Silas. You have the Underworld with you. You have a new family, Mathis. You shouldn't shut them out all the time."

Rukia was taken aback when Mathis practically butted his face into hers, breathing his words through clenched teeth. "You would tell me what to do because you saw a part of my life? You know _nothing_, Kuchiki Rukia. You think your 100 years gives you the right to tell me what to do with my comparatively paltry 18? How laughable."

"Then why don't you TELL me what's wrong so I can stop being so 'laughable?'" Rukia asked, emphasizing each word as they rolled off her tongue.

"It is none of your concern. Even if it was, what would you do but cower behind the cloaks of greater men and women? You cannot even help your comrade with his condition. What hope have you of helping me address mine?"

His scathing remark about her inability to assist with Ichigo's Hollow pushed her over the edge. She swung her Zanpakuto wildly, not even caring if she caused him harm or herself, her logic center recognizing that the latter was the more likely of the two.

He disappeared with a rush of muted static, causing Rukia's swing to go wide and spin her around. She saw him standing a few meters away, forming the bladed whips from his bandages. The two would have begun to fight with abandon when suddenly a dark shape flitted in and out of Rukia's peripheral vision. She whirled her head around to see what it was. Mathis must have seen it too, as he mirrored Rukia and turned to face the movement. Nothing was there.

Her ire momentarily forgotten, Rukia murmured, "You saw the movement, right?" She eased towards him, turning slowly to face away from him.

"Yes. I did not get a clear glimpse of what it was, however," he replied automatically, footsteps crunching the snow and ice beneath his feet as he pressed his back to Rukia's.

Neither of them said a word after that, and they both remained motionless as they waited for the mysterious shape to reappear. Rukia breathed slowly to minimize the amount of sound her exhales made, and felt adrenaline pump through her system as her intuition ticked like a time-bomb. Something was about to happen, but…what?

Rukia scanned the snowscape with her eyes, reacting quickly when she saw the dark shape zoom out of cover behind a tree and zig-zag its way to her.

"There!" she said, alerting Mathis to their potential assailant. The 'potential' part of that observation was looking bleak, as Rukia recognized the white object in the shape's hands to be a sword.

Mathis grunted and backflipped over Rukia's head, swinging his chains in front of Rukia. The chains kicked up a plume of ice and snow, but more importantly, stopped the attacker from connecting with Rukia head-on. Rukia took that opportunity to stab the ground four times, causing pure-white reiatsu to spill out of the slits.

"Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!" she commanded, causing a torrent of snow and ice to cascade forward, forcing the shadowy figure to come to a skidding halt, lest it ran straight into the deluge of freezing reiatsu. But it was too little too late; Rukia's Hakuren crashed down upon it with almight force, freezing it and subjecting it to Rukia's icy punishment.

It had taken ten seconds for Rukia and Mathis to subdue their attacker. Rukia found this to be a strange predicament. There was no doubt that Mathis was an incredibly powerful entity, yet their assailant had come alone to confront Mathis _and_ Rukia.

"Are you wondering why it was alone?" Mathis muttered. Rukia nodded silently.

Mathis walked forward to examine the frozen enemy and scrutinized it for several seconds. He suddenly reared back like he'd been attacked and swung his head away violently, extending some of his bandages and wrapping them around his eyes.

"Kuchiki! It has your form! Kill it quickly!" he directed, readying his chains in spite of the blindfold around his eyes. Rukia immediately took up her sword and stabbed forward, aiming the tip of her blade for the center of the dark shape, but staggered back as a column of white erupted into the sky. The figure had broken free of its icy prison, and was now flanked by a familiar looking column of ice.

"How cold of you, me," it sneered as Rukia finally processed Mathis's words and took in the sight of the attacker's face. It was a perfect copy of her, from the single lock of hair that rested by her nose to the white blade of Sode no Shirayuki.

"How…?"

Mathis didn't bother explaining, instead sending one of his chains flying towards the false Rukia. It leapt up out of harm's way, landing just in front of the pillar of ice it had created. Mathis pulled the chain around, sending it towards Rukia a second time. She leapt away a second time, and laughed as the chain cut into the pillar of ice and sent it toppling to the ground just in front of Mathis, obscuring him from view.

"Won't you look at me?" the false Rukia crooned. The strange apparition ran a hand up and down its copied body in a seductive manner. It was then that Rukia noticed that the copy wasn't perfect; the strange clone had a slightly taller frame with more pronounced curves, particularly around its chest and rear. Its face was nearly identical to Rukia's as well, though it too had subtle differences. There was a slight wilt to the eyes that gave them a sultry gaze, and its lips had a small pout that Rukia knew she'd _never_ had and would never have. Everything about the clone was more attractive than the original, as the latter knew herself best.

Rukia didn't know what was going on or how the thing had copied (and improved, as much as she hated to admit) her form and potentially her powers, but she knew she did not appreciate it handling her body and voice the way it was, and her impulses flared up. She called a stream of water up from the snow beneath her feet, freezing it with her sword and sending it hurtling towards the Rukia clone.

It was ready for her attack, spinning its version of Sode no Shirayuki like a chopper's rotors when the icy spine was but a foot away. The projectile shattered, passing the false Rukia harmlessly. Its response was to launch itself forward and engage with Rukia in close quarters. She slid her right foot back, stancing herself in preparation for the impact. When their swords met at last, Rukia fought like she'd never fought before. More fury than form, more destructive than defensive. It was not the same as fighting for her life, fighting for pride. She felt a surge of adrenaline every time she saw her own face leering back at her, evey time the tassel of her doppelganger's Zanpakuto whistled through the air, every time she felt the tip of her own weapon barely graze her opponent's shihakusho. She was the only Kuchiki Rukia in existence, and this copy had no place in the world.

But slowly Rukia felt herself being pushed back. Despite her best efforts, the not-Rukia was overwhelming her. All of her physical blows were parried and countered, all of her kido rendered useless by the clone's equal, if not greater, proficiency in the Demon Arts, even her unique Zanpakuto reduced to a simple sword by the clone's possession of the same weapon.

"Having trouble keeping up?" it sneered, spinning its copy of Sode no Shirayuki in its hand like a baton. Rukia did not entertain the clone's inquisition, instead choosing to rush forward and continue their duel. She stumbled as the false Rukia sidestepped quickly and smacked her in the back with the pommel of its sword. She recovered with a quick flip and held her Zanpakuto at the ready, breath heaving from the exertion.

"C'mon, I'm sure you've got more than that," the clone said mockingly. "Why don't you—."

A sudden burst of snow cut it off midsentence, and both of them were stunned to see a chain sprouting from the ground, its end sticking out of the other side of the false-Rukia's chest.

It looked up at Rukia, registering the fatal wound, and smirked eerily. It struggled to speak its last words.

"The Jealous One approaches…"

With that chilling statement the false Rukia turned pitch black, reverting to the shadowy mass it had been composed of before, and subsequently melted away, leaving behind no trace. The chain that it had been impaled on sank back into the ground with a shudder.

_The first of four will bite at the Jealous One. You will save her._

The prediction of the Weavers echoed in her mind, and she suddenly became conscious of the snowy landscape around them, just like the setting she'd witnessed in the vision the Weavers had impressed on her. It was coming closer. The time that had been prophesied by those strange beings was close at hand, and yet Rukia was still unsure of what it was she was meant to do. What four things were they talking of? Who was the Jealous One? Save who from what?

"Well done," came Mathis's voice from behind her. "Not many fare as well as you did for the first time."

She turned and saw him standing where the pillar of ice had fallen earlier. Strangely enough, the band of metal was still wrapped around his eyes. She stepped over to him, asking "First time for what? And why do you have that around your eyes?"

Mathis neglected to respond, instead flexing his fingers and murmuring under his breath. Then he reached behind him with both arms and swung them skyward with almighty force. A gust of wind tickled Rukia's face and whipped her hair around her head as she watched Mathis's chains skyrocket to the stars.

"Static, Boom," Mathis intoned.

Oscillations travelled up the two chains and grew in intensity as they rose to the sky. At the speartips the thrums ceased for a nanosecond before a loud _thoom_ rippled through the air. Rukia felt the vibration course through her body with an electrifying tingle, before a single instinct cropped up in her mind of its own volition.

_Ambush._

Suddenly, in the distance, Rukia heard a commotion. It came from the direction of the convoy, and she heard a variety of shouts and clangs as the Underworld mustered itself for battle.

"A message. You've warned them," Rukia observed out loud.

Mathis nodded his head, dropping his hands to his sides and retracting the extended chains.

"To answer your question," he said as the commotion at the convoy continued, "Tenebris Speculum. Dark Mirror. It was your first time fighting one. Tenebris Speculis are shadow creatures that mimic your body and fighting ability and improve on them. They are resilient creatures employed by the Legion to assist against powerful foes."

"Does that have anything to do with why you're still blindfolded?" Rukia asked.

"That is how they copy you. The first to look upon a Speculum's shadow form is copied. If there is an unnatural medium between the Speculum and a potential copy, like the ice generated by your sword, the Speculum cannot steal his form. Any others that gaze upon the creature can be copied, but only if the Speculum deems it a worthy change."

"I guess it would be bad if you got copied then," Rukia said.

"…Indeed."

Rukia noticed the uncharacteristic hesitation in his terse response and immediately asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing is the matter."

"Are you really going to keep this up, Mathis? I just want to help. We all do."

Mathis turned his unseeing gaze on her and said flatly, "And would I be correct in assuming that 'wanting to help me' has something to do with the task assigned to you by Soul Society?"

Rukia's blood turned to liquid nitrogen at the pointed query, and she felt her mouth move aimlessly for a few seconds before she was able to formulate a response. "What makes you say that?"

"Do not mock me, Kuchiki. I caught you eavesdropping aboard Aleksander's ship. Kale also reported that upon your return from Soul Society you were…how did he say it? Twitchy. Unwilling to make eye contact when the matter was pressed. Such are tell-tale signs of secrecy and possibly deception. Paired with your duplicitous behavior that day, I can only imagine Soul Society has tasked you with something that you find distasteful."

"I have misjudged you, Kuchiki." He looked her up and down as he spoke, as though he were sizing her up. "You are either smarter or shorter-sighted than I initially took you for. Let us hope that you are the former."

Rukia was taken aback. This 18 year-old _child_ was making a fool of her.

"…What will you do if I'm the latter?"

"Depending on how foolish you are, I may kill you or not at all."

"Then I'll do whatever I can to stay alive."

"You assume that sparing you would be a mercy."

Rukia breathed deeply to calm herself. "Fine. Then I'll do what I can to avoid both fates. In the meantime, we should get back to—."

"No," Mathis enunciated clearly. He slowly lowered himself to the ground and sat, crossing his legs and perching his hands just over his knees.

"No?"

"No," Mathis repeated, sitting at ramrod-stiff attention. "Despite what you and Kurosaki Ichigo may think, I am not omnipotent. I cannot allow myself to be copied under any circumstances, and I cannot guarantee that I will be able to fight effectively in a larger-scale skirmish with this visual handicap. I will either injure Underworld soldiers or fail to defend against attacks I normally would fend off with ease."

Rukia nodded. "I understand. Then I will go and assist—."

"No."

"I don't have the same problem as you do, do I?" Rukia asked irritably. "I'm sure your soldiers can handle my clone easily."

"That is not why you cannot go. I am vulnerable in this state. It is likely that I can defend myself even if you were to leave me behind, but I do not take chances on the battlefield. They may gain the upper hand if they shroud their presence. You must stay here and watch for any who would try to eliminate me through stealth. Silas and the others will be able to fend off the ambushers for now."

Rukia stood silently for a moment before she responded. "How will you fight them if they appear in greater numbers, then?"

"I am currently thinking of a way to perceive the Speculis without triggering their copy mechanic. Hopefully I will not have to resort to anything drastic."

Mathis remained silent after that, likely waiting for an idea to come to him and empower him against the Speculis. Rukia sat as well, folding her legs beneath her and watching for anything that might want to bring harm to either of them.

Several minutes later, the faint sounds of battle reached Rukia's ears, and she immediately grasped her Zanpakuto's hilt. A jangle and the faint touch of one of Mathis's chains on her arm prompted her to relax, however, and she remained seated, though she kept her weapon ready to draw.

The minutes dragged as battle raged on at the convoy. Though Rukia was alert for any danger that could come their way, she felt a question constantly come up from the back of her mind, opening her lips and taking in air to speak before she regained control of herself and pushed the inquiry back into the recesses of her memory where it belonged for the moment. This pattern repeated itself many times before Mathis himself spoke up.

"If you have something you wish to say, speak. Stop sputtering like a fish out of water," he said impatiently.

Rukia tsked in annoyance at his astute observation and gathered her thoughts for a moment. Then she let the question fly.

"Back in that cave, before you starting…training me, you mentioned something about there being a reason Sarah couldn't remember anything. About your pasts. What reason was that?"

"You are being quite familiar with me, Kuchiki. We are little more than fellow soldiers, and yet you have asked me to divulge sensitive information more than is appropriate for individuals in our kind of relationship in the past hour."

"All I'm asking is that you tell me what you meant that day. From one soldier to another. I've already seen your past, and I promise you that it wasn't an intentional intrusion. Would it kill you to tell me more about Sarah? I know I've only just gotten to know her, but I like her. She's a good girl, and it kills me that you keep so many things from her."

Mathis paused before he gave his answer. "I cannot take the risk."

Rukia felt closer to an answer and pressed harder. "Why? What risk is there in telling me?"

Mathis neglected to answer and instead leapt to his feet. He stood stock still for a moment, waiting for something. Then he said sharply, "We have company."

Rukia stood quickly and drew her Zanpakuto, calling its name and turning it back into its pure white shikai. She waited quietly, waiting for a horde of demons to rush them from the distance. Instead, a trio of demons slowly revealed themselves. A single demon with a large, muscular body and strips of what looked like slate grey metal partially covering its forearms and legs stood at the front. Two hulking monstrosities flanked it, each with four arms holding four short axe-like weapons. They were covered completely in what looked like heavy armor, and towered over the comparatively small Major.

"Three contacts. Heavy presence. Likely a Major and two Ironclads. What poor timing."

"How do you kill them?" Rukia asked, scrutinizing the three demons and trying to find what seemed to be their weakest and most vulnerable points. She couldn't find any.

"Cut off the head of the snake and the body will die," Mathis said, shifting his weight on his left leg, preparing to spring forward at a moment's notice. "We must kill the Major first."

As if responding to his strategy, the Major raised his hand and snarled in demon tongue. The two giants stepped forward with their axes at the ready, covering most points of attack. _Your move._

"Mathis, the Major just ordered its bodyguards to move up in front of it. We won't get to it without going through them."

Mathis remained still, not moving a muscle nor saying anything. Rukia glanced at him multiple times, waiting for his lightning-fast strike, but every time she turned her eyes on him, he was there, unmoving and silent.

His strategy became quickly apparent, however, as the two Ironclads began to grow restless, pacing back and forth in front of the Major and occasionally smacking their behemoth weapons together and on the ground. Even the Major seemed miffed by the silent treatment, pacing slowly. And all the while, Mathis remained frozen like a statue.

At last, the outcome Mathis desired unfolded. One of the Ironclads bellowed with frustration and charged, prompting its partner to charge as well. The Major snarled at the two, but whatever it said was likely lost on the dumb brutes' low-level intellect. They continued to amble forward, closing the distance between Mathis and themselves with alarming speed.

"Mathis…?!" Rukia said urgently. Mathis had not budged from his position, electing instead to draw his chains back into his bandages. His blindfold also slithered around his head and into his bandages, leaving his closed eyes bare to the cold night air.

The space between Mathis and Rukia and the two Ironclads shortened.

Ten meters.

"Mathis, what are we going to do?" Rukia yelled, unsuccessfully trying to pry an answer out of him.

Five meters.

Mathis raised his right arm above and behind his head and clenched his fist, as though he were about to throw an overhead punch.

One meter.

Rukia instinctively flash-stepped away to avoid the inevitable impact, but saw Mathis remain in place. He swung his arm down with great force, and as it approached the the ground, a massive, flat object materialized just on top of his forearm. It looked like a huge shield, almost as long as Mathis was tall, and twice as wide as he was. A hexagonal notch was cut out of the uppermost angled side of the shield, in the middle of which hovered a long, gold shard. Gold trim ran from the notch around the rectangular body of the shield, which brought the strange triangular fins protruding from either side of the top and bottom of the shield into focus.

More astounding than the size of the shield was the effect it produced. When the triangular mandibles at the bottom of the shield made contact with the ground, a small flash of blue light, barely visible, flared from the sides of the shield before disappearing. Then, nanoseconds later, the two giant demons collided with the shield. Their impact didn't even budge the shield an inch, and instead sent them hurtling backwards at high speed.

The Major seemed shocked at the turn of events, but quickly regained its bearings and began barking orders at its bodyguards, who had risen to their feet slowly after their spectacular collapse. Aside from a small dent in one of the Ironclads' armor, they were unharmed.

"Come, Kuchiki," Mathis said, yanking the shield from the ground and standing at the ready. "This will make good practice for you."

"I think I'd prefer if we practiced in less than dangerous settings," she called back at him.

"Come all the same. You may find that this battle tempers your resolve to help Kurosaki Ichigo."

As he spoke, he turned so the shield faced her. A sphere of light-blue energy hovered in between the shield's mandibles, with three teeth-like structures holding it in place. On the shield was a golden sigil that looked like a long diamond within a larger long diamond, with the longer tips of the inner diamond sharing points with the tips of the wide sides of its kin.

Upon seeing the strange glyph, Rukia heard the voice again.

_That's right, Rukia. Don't die. Get stronger. The stronger you are, the more satisfying it will be to—._

"Enough," Mathis growled. "Attack the Major. I will maintain the attention of its brutes."

With that, he lunged forward to engage with the Ironclads. A swing of his shield and the connection of the mandibles with one of the Ironclad's arms resulted in a large explosion. Rukia tried to ignore the voice that had creeped into her mind again, stepping quickly to attack the Major so that Mathis could dispatch the Ironclads without interruption.

It stood at a formidable height, nearly as tall as Captain Zaraki and rippling with muscle. Grey metal armor covered parts of its body, concentrated particularly around its arms and legs. Its face resembled a grey skull with razor-sharp teeth, reminiscent of a Minor's visage but less feral and more developed. Upon seeing Rukia bring her sword to bear, the demon made a chuffing sound akin to a snort, and drew its arms up into a fighting stance, the strips of metal on its forearms and hands gleaming menacingly in the moonlight.

Rukia chose to strike first. With a quick flurry of her blade and a single outstretched hand, she sent a flurry of icy needles towads the Major, primarily to distract him from her following attack. The Major swatted the needles aside with a single large hand and smashed downward. Rukia deflected, stabbing her Zanpakuto into the ground quickly and retracting it equally as fast to continue trading blows with the Major. A vein of ice snaked its way towards the Major's feet beneath the snow as Rukia continued her attack, using her agility to herd the Major to a single point.

The Major suddenly went on the offensive, beating Rukia's sword away and smashing its metalbound fist into her stomach. Rukia coughed at the sudden strike, and backpedaled quickly to regain her bearings. As she retreated, the Major smashed its fists into the ground, breaching the frozen soil. The ice climbed up its arms, coating the metal on them with a white sheen. Rukia didn't start celebrating yet, knowing that such a simple trick wouldn't best a demon of Major rank.

Sure enough, the ice stopped at the demon's elbows, and began to ripple and writhe like water. An orange-red light lit up the beast's arms, and Rukia saw the ice sizzle and slide off in sheets, melted away by the tremendous heat in the Major's metallic armor.

"Fiireee meltsss iiccceee…" it hissed, smashing its fist together to emphasize its point. Sparks erupted from the point of contact of its fists, casting the Major in an intimidating light as they flared momentarily before fizzing out in the snow.

"Great," Rukia breathed, still slightly disoriented by the powerful hit the Major had landed. She raised her Zanpakuto and dispelled her Shikai, knowing it would only hinder her against this kind of enemy. She murmured, "Mass, flow." As she'd practiced, she brought the water from the ground up and around her sword, encapsulating it in a thin film of water. As she swung it, more water was pulled from the Realm of Creation, creating an infinite water sheath.

"Water extinguishes fire," Rukia said with a smile. The Major snarled and leapt forward, arms outstretched. Rukia flicked her now water-drenched Zanpakuto towards the Major, sending a high-pressure stream of water at one of its fists. The hissing steam that exploded outward from the metal on its arm distracted it long enough for Rukia to leap up high and bring her Zanpakuto down as hard as she could on its head. Just before the white blade made contact, it peeled back, causing the tip of Rukia's weapon to just graze its skeletal face.

With a snarl the Major leapt up as well and ignited the metal on its legs, swinging one down in front itself on its descent to deliver a punishing kick. Rukia barely dodged and tumbled to the side, feeling the heat of the metal barely miss her sword arm. The snow around the point of impact melted explosively, sending clouds of steam into the air. Without missing a beat, the demon swung around and swiped at Rukia with both arms. She barely managed to block the first blow, but managed to completely dodge the second. Her response consisted of a well-aimed jet of water from her sword directly at the Major's face, hoping that it would hit its eye socket and buy her enough time to—.

With a movement quicker than its large frame suggested it was capable of, the Major ducked and rocketed forward, catching Rukia in a bad place: her sword was on the other side of her body.

She barely had enough time to curse before the Major landed a second powerful hit on her, this time choosing to bury its searing hot fist into her side. Rukia gasped at the impact, feeling a small crack and a burning sensation simultaneously as the armored fist fractured one of her ribs and branded her.

Just like that, the fight had gone from somewhat evenly matched to overwhelmingly in the Major's favor. Despite Rukia's limited elemental advantage, the Major's physical stature and naturally sturdy armor was too much for her to bypass. Unless…

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia cried, calling forth her Zanpakuto again and simultaneously dispelling the watery shield around her blade.

"Yyouuu arreee a fooool," the Major sneered. It raised a fist deliberately and swung it _through_ Sode no Shirayuki's blade, melting through the frozen weapon and causing it to shatter. A second hit followed, driving the air out of Rukia's lungs again and leaving the front of her Shihakusho in charred tatters. She clutched at her burnt uniform to protect her modesty, and panted, seemingly all out of tricks. The petite Shinigami fell to her knees, grasp on her Zanpakuto loose and weakened.

"Ssssoo weeaakk…" the Major rasped with its sibilant voice. "The weeaaak mussst diiiee." With that declaration, it clenched both fists and raised them above its head, preparing to deliver the final blow. At the apex of its fists' ascent, Rukia sprang into action. She leapt forward, only a foot away from the Major, and jammed her broken blade into a chink in the Major's ribbed chest armor.

"San no mai," she chanted with a grin. "Shirafune!"

The Major looked confused for a moment, and suddenly realized its fatal mistake. Too little, too late. Rukia's Shikai reformed itself, piercing through the Major's heart in order to fully reconstruct itself. The icy sword made a _snick_ as Rukia ripped it from the Major's body, bringing an end to the short but intense battle. The Major toppled to the snow-laden ground slowly, like a giant tree being felled, sending up a plume of steam and powdery snow as the still-hot armor of the demon hit the ground.

Rukia breathed slowly, drinking in the cold air and trying to catch her breath. This was her first real victory yet since Ichigo had rescued her from Aizen's plot to have her executed. The first of many stepping stones to fighting at Ichigo's side rather than riding his coattails.

"Well done."

Rukia turned and saw Mathis standing on top of the mangled body of one of the Ironclads, shield still hovering an inch from his forearm. The sight of the shield made her somewhat uneasy, and she clutched her hand closer to her chest in defense.

Mathis seemed to notice and turned away to look toward the direction of the convoy. "For an ambush group, this was far too large. Not to mention the fact that Majors do not head an attack unless there is a larger settlement nearby."

"So does that mean our destination is under Legion control?" Rukia inquired.

"It means that, at best, it is under siege," Mathis replied, scanning the treeline and the tundra around them. "We must be ready for anything once we get there."

He looked back toward her and said, "We will not fight such isolated battles once we arrive. Count today as a lesson."

He flicked his hand up, causing the shield at his arm to break away and float down to his feet. He climbed atop it like one would a skateboard, and hovered over to Rukia. It was a bizarre sight, and Rukia would have commented on it had not a lone Tenebris Speculum attacked.

"Mathis!" she yelled, pointing her reformed sword at the attacking shadow demon. Mathis reflexively turned, seeing the Tenebris Speculum as it morphed into the same copy of Rukia as before. The demon let out a laugh of victory, which faded when it noticed that its form was not changing.

"You have given me too much time to prepare," Mathis growled. With a lightning-fast motion, he swiftly decapitated the offending demon with a chain lance, causing the demon to keel over and melt away.

"I know I should be asking how you weren't copied, but part of me is preoccupied with the sight of seeing myself get beheaded," Rukia said dryly.

"Get on," he commanded curtly, ignoring her remark.

After a moment's consideration, she complied, stepping aboard the shield gingerly, as though it would tip her over if she wasn't careful. Now that she thought about it, she didn't even understand what this shield-like object was, considering Mathis had been using it like a weapon and was now using it for transportation. But there really was no point in asking. It was not often that Mathis answered her questions, and today he had been unusually willing to provide answers.

With a sigh, she plopped down and asked, "Does anyone ever tell you that they end up with more questions than answers with you?"

Silence.


	17. erridRUN

**Chapt12;;/r/**

**/ERROR**

**/CONTAACAAACACTT MADE**

**-ILENCE HAS ARRIV**

**-NO**

**-NO**

**-NO**

**-FALL TO**

**-NO**

**-NO**

**-NO**

**-NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO**

**-N͟͏́Ǫ̴̢͟**

**=T/RAMSIT TRANSMIT TO CASTLE**

**-ABORT**

**-TURN BbAAC-/k**

**-SILENCE IS COMING**

**-SI̸͞͏́͝L̶̸̛E̵̷̡̛͡N̢̨CE IS COM̵I̢͟N̸̷̕G̡͜͠͏͘**

**-SILENCE I̮S͆͂ͣ̄ͫ͊ͦ͗̾͊̌ͤ͒͐ ̸͖̙̻̝̗͙̲̺̗̰̮̪̯͙͗͐ͩ͗̀̽͘ͅC͈̖͓̩͉̘̑̽̾̃͊͆ͫ̋́́́͟͞O̸̵̹͖̺͇̣͕̙̎͐ͮ̽̐͐̓̈̕͟͠M̲̯̞̻͍̖̼͇ͣ̏͆̈ͤ̒͘͡I̸̡͎͍͉̹̹͖̣̹̜̊̌̿̿ͭ̉ͦͯ̋͐͐́̚͢N̸̗͙̹̜̟͕̼̮̟̦͓̏͛̾͌̚̕͞ͅͅG͒̾͂̆ͤͨ̑̊ͬ̀̀ͨ͌̃**̵̶̢̡̱͖̹̤̜͙̘͑̚͘

-Ş̯͙̠͖̺̹̟̙͙̠̺͇̭͚͎̬͕̳ͣͪ̆̎̎̍͛͜͞͠ͅI̷ͤ̌̈̓̍̌ͯ̆͗͆͒̆͋͋͊͛͏̙̻̤̙̞̙̫̼͇̤͓̭̝͔͚ͅͅĹ̈͒ͤ҉̢̠̮̺̺̜͖̼̤͙̲̱̭͕͠͝͠҉̘̺̪̙͎͍̠N̷͖̙̳͈̺̿̽̌͊ͮͪ̽̏̅͠͞C̶ͫ̏̾ͮͬ̒̂́̒̇̏̑ͫ͂̀̃͗͋̆́͏̹̥̞̝̳̙̠̞̟̳͈͕͙͜ͅĔ̊̃̂́͌ͦ̊ͧ̿ͫ̓̌͌̐̓̚͏̺͔̰̗͈̝̼̬̫͕̲̬ ̶̨̯̹̞̮͓̳̦̹̠̹͔͙ͯ̋̓ͥͩͫ͌̆̑̿́͐ͧͭ̄̌͊̉͟͞I̧̢̖̼̝̝̜̝̣̎ͧ̿̂͑̀̍ͫ͘͘͢S̡̛̳̼̘̺̖͍͖͎̥͚͖͎̥̈ͣͫͫ̕͡ ̣̝̦̗̺͈̭̻̪̜̪̠͖̳̘̙ͪ̐̈́̓̑ͧ̂ͬͭ̆̎̓͗͑́̕̕͝C̷ͦ̇̂͋͢͏̹̯̳̖̥̺̥͇̟̞̣́O̶͓͓̤̮͍̠̝̻̖̻̰̟̲͚͓̘̩̘ͤ̾͋͊ͮ̄̓̌ͧ̔̇̂ͧ̇̑ͩͪ̄̾͗̏ͥ̒́͟͞҉̗̰̞̤̤̯̖̙͓̥̹͞ͅI̵̛̙̩̞̲͈̮̩̮̞̹̰͐̆̉ͭ͒̀͋̎̆̐͐̚͟ͅN̵̟̹̺͉̲͔͔͎̮̰̻̖͕̹̐̓ͪ̇̏̈́ͧ̔ͮ͒ͤ̿ͯ̌͗̍͟͞G̴̶̡͙͔͇̜̣̱͖͈̥̰̈́́̓̊̏ͬ͋ͥ

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̵̡̫̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̢̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̿͛͌͊ͮ́̚̚͘̕͢͝

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬͉̣̦̤̜̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̨̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̽̾͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ͉̣̦̤̜̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ̾ͮ̾͡͞҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̖̜ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̟͇̬̻̟̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉̢͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̵̡̫̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̢̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̿͛͌͊ͮ́̚̚͘̕͢͝

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬͉̣̦̤̜̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̨̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̽̾͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ͉̣̦̤̜̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ̾ͮ̾͡͞҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̖̜ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̟͇̬̻̟̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ̴̢̟͙̠͙͇̯̣̖̦͉̥̬̹̰̮̇͌̇ͧͥ̀͊͗̾ͥ̑ͦ̾̃́ ̢̥̗͇̠̺̹̣̞̻̹̱̼̤̠͚̩͙͊ͨ̏̅̈́̋̂̊̎̈́̎̇̑̉ͧ͆̋͡͡ͅ ̴̘͈̟̼͉͙̂̇̅̊͂̽ͧ̌͑ͭ̄̊̓͒́̀ͅ ̶̷̴͈̘̩̬̤͉͓̜̮̠͈̻̺̱͓ͬ͆̎ͩ͂͒͑ͯ̏͗̽ͩͮ͗ͩ͐̐̚͡ ̤̤̗̘̰̹̲̺̗͚̣͚̜͖̻͚̰̏̍ͪ̌ͦͯ̃ͯͨͥ̔ͬ̃̔ͥ̆̚̚͝ ̧͈̳͈̦͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳̓̂ͨͬ̾͊̍͊̂ͣͨ̊̈́̌̔̾ͩ͝͝͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅ ̨̨̛̦̞̱̥͔̻̦͈̙̻̱͍̪̦͓̐̇͊̽ͫ̎ ̷̬̟̥͍̼͔̹̱̗͕͎͈̱͈̟̼̤̍́͗̄̉͌͌ͤ͌̅̍̌͊ͯ̍͊ͧ̀͘ ̡̼̭̭͈̺͚̖̜ͪ̔͂̅ͭ͠ͅ ̨͍̳͎̜̻ͪ̀ͦ͑̀͘ ̷̴̧̓͗͛̏ͮ͌̌́͏҉̬̱̗̘̝͚̯̪̠̼͉̱̻̹̙̮ ̨̥̣̼͖͕̼̼̤̬̙̱͓̫͕͒̏̆̎̽͑ͬͤͪ̈́̒͊̾͒̽̾̚͘͞ ̘͇̤̗̗̹̰̱̮̩̹̝ͯͧͪͩ͐ͮ̌̾͛ͦ̿͑́ͫͩ̎̃ͮͩ͜͢͠ ̛ͬ͐͑҉̻̫̮̬̖̤̱̹͉͍̦̜̫ ̔̾ͧ͊̓̈́̏̊̆̕҉͓͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩͝ͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉̢͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

̶͇͚̥̠̟̩̬̤̿ͭ̀̀͠ ̵̨͕͕̬̲̫̮̹̳͓͓̜͈̗̻͐ͤ̔̊̓͒͗̏̎̑̒̈́ͥ̿͂̉̒̿̕͟͡ͅ ̸̶͇̫̲͎̬̻̮͖̗̯̺̳͈̬̜ͯ̈̑̌̈̔ͧ̅ͥ͌́ͤͫͨͅ ̂̈̊ͨ̾̈́͐ͪͯ̓̒ͦ͛ͪ̑͏̮̳̝̹̮̮̩͜͞͠ ̵̵͎̮͙̼̳̺̹̫̫̻͎̰̘̫͈̮ͧͤ̐̑̈́ͅ ̵̺̙̙̜̠̣̠̓ͬ͊͊̑̇̔̓͊ͯ͊ͥ̚ ̌ͦͧ̎ͮ̿͛̾͊̎̑̚͏̶͈̳͖̼̼̲͉̣̦̤̜̕͡ ̸̛͙̮̝̮͕͚̪̤̞͇͙̠̮̮̜̗̹̦̳̼̭̩̃̑̒̆͌̇̈́͆ͬ̈̓ͥ͂ͦ̎̔ͫ͘͠ͅͅͅ ̶̙̘̟͎̼̰̼͙̹̲͔̰̙́̐̈̈́̐͋̉̾͒̈́͠ ̴̷̸̹̘̫̹̳̥̟̭̪̰̋ͧ͐̔̏ͥ̀͌͜ ̧̡̰̮̼̹̥͇͔̱̰̫̦̠͒̃ͤ̇ͤͧ̓ͥ͌̽̈ͤ̌̕̕͢ ̵̟̦͚̥̪̖̗̥̦̹̙̬̅̄̀͗͗̉͆͑ͬͣ͡͡͠ ͫ̿̒̊҉̵̶̩͈̤̦̺̼͓̗͉̮͚̰̳̝̙͚͘͝ ̷̷̸̱̮̙͔̳̺̬̙ͫ̽ͬ̿ͣͬͨ̃̽͒̓ͬ͡ͅ ̞̠̣̩̔̽͊̆ͧͣ̆͐̚͜͢͝ ̷̻̺̩̃͛ͥ̆͜͠ ̸͇̳͇̮͇̺̪̲̺̟͇̬̻̟ͩ͛̇̌̽ͯ͗̑ͩ͋́ ̨͕̹͚̼͍̯͍͉̞̞ͤ̾̓̅̄̋ͦ̿ͧͬ̀ͯ͑͆̃̂ͨ̌̚̕͝ ̨ͮͣ̌̇͆̿̃ͭ̆͋͜͏̫̘̙̠͇͖͈͖͇ ̵̡̹͙͇̜͕͚͓̳̖̪̝̝̤͖̣͊͌ͥͭ͂̄̽ͮ̎̿ͨ͐ͥ̿̋ͬ͡͞ ͐͑͂ͦ̒͑̓̐͏̥̪̺͉̝͉ ̡̡̌͗̀͛̇͋̾́͢͏̞͉̗̥̰̩̰̩͚̣̼͍̼ ̵̧̢̮̺̹̼̰̖͙̜̰̼̭ͦ́̒̓̿͠͡ ̧̪͍͇ͩ͗ͣ̅͜͡ ̡̔̑ͬ̾ͯ̊́͞҉̰̝̩̗̮̤̱̖̺̲͓̹̜̘̤͖̀ͅ ̴̡̛ͦ̽͒̌̈́̃́͛̒̅ͥ͂͆ͪ̄͆̋҉͙͍̺͎͈͔̳̥̟̟̝͖͎̪̥ ̡ͫ̏̎̾ͧ̒̆̈̇̈̾͋́̾ͮ̾̚҉̴̶͚͖̗͓̮̲͖͖̹̩̰͍͉͖̝̭̲̀ ̧̹̪̞̭͙͉͖̦͉̳̘̜̳͗ͫ̾̄̾͛͑͢͠ ͣͯ̔̓ͯ͋̔̈ͩ͐͌̃͛̾̓̒̉̀͏̯̻̰͇̭̝͍̺͕̹̟ͅ ̸̸̧̛̋̊̂́ͥ̈́͛ͥ͏̙̥̗̬͎̹̪ͅ ̴̶̦̳̱͍ͮ͋ͣ͌̈ͮͨͭ̃̏̒̅̇́͢͠ ̢͍͙̙̩͎̱͚̹͇̬͈̻̣̗̊ͮ̄͆͋ͣ̌̐̌͋̐ͭ͊̿̿͛͌͊ͮ́͘̕͢

**I AWAIT, DREAMING.**


	18. Nightmare Fallacy

**Hey guys. Thanks a lot for dropping a few words last chapter; it was a big motivation boost. Here's a question for you: would you prefer I updated more often with shorter chapters, or left things the way they are now? Someone had expressed some displeasure at the length of time between updates, and I do want to try to accommodate you all, but I wouldn't be able to keep the same amount of content for each chapter if I chose to update more frequently. Let me know by review/PM!**

**Mood Music: Shiro Sagisu – Never Meant to Belong**

**Anguish**

**A Requiem**

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Nightmare Fallacy**

"What's wrong?"

Silas turned to Ichigo, answering with a question of his own. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been staring at that computer for the past 10 minutes. Everyone else is trying to repair damages from that attack earlier."

He turned back to the computer, wordless for a moment. "I've received a message from the outpost we're headed for," he explained.

"That is strange in and of itself, as all attempts at communicating with it have failed thus far. And now that we have contact, I find a disturbing message: Silence is coming. The rest of the message then terminates in a strange fuzz of illegible characters followed by a second, equally nonsensical message."

"This means one of two things," he continued, crossing his arms and scrutinizing the screen carefully. "One, the onsite AI of the outpost has malfunctioned and must be repaired with the rest of the outpost, which will have fallen into disrepair without the AI's automation, or two, the outpost now resides under demon control. Neither prospect is good for us. We'll have to be as careful as possible in our approach."

He glanced at Ichigo meaningfully. "How are you feeling?"

Ichigo flexed his arms and legs. Most of the feeling had come back to all of his limbs, and his short-lived reduced lung capacity had essentially disappeared. He would have participated in the skirmish the hour before had not Silas chained him to the gurney.

"I'm fine, thanks. I've been fine ever since Sarah healed me. Or whatever it is she does."

Silas shut off the screen and stood. "That's good to hear. I could not have you fighting so soon after Sarah's procedure. Even with her great proficiency for revitalizing the wounded, your injuries were caused by Ningen. There was no guarantee that Sarah fully healed you without waiting and observing."

Ichigo shook the single remaining set of chains that bound him to the cot. "So…are you gonna let me go or not?"

Silas took a key from his breast pocket and unlocked the padlock that held the loops of metal in place. Ichigo rolled his shoulders as he got up, sweeping the chains off of him and stretching his body as best as he could.

"How much longer until we reach the outpost? We've already been on this path for a couple of days," Ichigo said, continuing to limber up as he spoke.

"At our current pace? Approximately 19 hours. But we will be making haste, so our actual ETA may be 12 or 13 hours."

Ichigo nodded. "Let me patrol with the others. I've been useless for too long now."

Silas thought about it a moment before nodding his approval. "I'll let the other point men know you're on duty. Stick to the skies. Having an aerial view would be very helpful."

He reached into one of the drawers and pulled out an earpiece, handing it to Ichigo after activating it.

"You will need that. You'll get updates directly from me and you can hear what the others are saying if they broadcast. If you need to call out disturbances or warnings, simply hold your finger to the side of the earpiece, and the built in mic will pick up your vocal vibrations."

Ichigo screwed the little contraption into his ear and nodded when Silas tapped the mic in his lapel and issued orders to the others on patrol.

"Kurosaki Ichigo will be monitoring the perimeter from the air. Do not be alarmed by his unfamiliar presence. Maintain positions and report all disturbances as usual."

A flurry of tinny affirmatives sounded from the earpiece, and Ichigo nodded to indicate that the device was working.

"Take care to keep from locking eyes with a Tenebris Speculum. We must keep them from copying our stronger assets," Silas warned.

"Those shadows? I'll keep a lookout for them. I'm pretty fast, so they might not even be able to keep up with me," Ichigo replied with bravado.

Silas grunted in response, turning back to the screen and switching it on, poring over the message for the 20th time.

The icy air was like a physical blow; Ichigo had to stand for a few seconds to get accustomed to the frigid air. Once he felt comfortable enough, he leapt up into the air, surveying the long convoy and the landscape around it as he rose. The moment he reached the apex of his jump and stood, he saw a red dot in his peripheral and reflexively brandished his sword at the source.

"_Kurosaki Ichigo, confirm aerial presence," _came a voice from the earpiece.

Ichigo held a finger to his ear and responded, "Yeah, it's me."

Upon hearing his words, the red dot disappeared, and its wielder waved at Ichigo before giving him a thumbs-up. Then he turned and paced the convoy's perimeter, joined by another marksman Ichigo hadn't even seen. _These guys are good,_ Ichigo thought.

The substitute Shinigami sheathed his great sword and scanned the area. Demon bodies were strewn about the snow-white landscape, slowly but steadily evaporating into the air. There were some human casualties as well, and some members of the Underworld and Andropov's crew had taken it upon themselves to strip useful equipment from the bodies respectfully, before clearing patches of snow to create funeral pyres. He saw some clasp their hands together in prayer, while others knelt and bowed to the pyres, touching their foreheads to their hands on the ground. Still others even chanted in foreign languages, all honoring the dead in their own ways.

His fascination with the various ways they honored the deceased must have been conspicuous, because a gruff voice buzzed through the earpiece. _"This your first time seeing someone die?"_

"No," Ichigo replied, hand on his ear to trigger the mic. "But it's the first time I've seen so many different people with different backgrounds working together like this. Even Soul Society has its disputes."

"_Believe me we've had our fair share too. But we recognize that everything's just a different way of looking at the same thing. The whole 'one true God' system behind faiths like Judaism and Islam and all that jazz? It's the same God. Buddha and the metaphysical Watchmaker? Same God. Too many similarities with each other not to be. I'm pretty sure even your Soul Society's got some kind of figurehead too, right?"_

Ichigo remembered mention by Aizen as he left Soul Society to descend into Hueco Mundo of the enigmatic entity. "Yeah, he's called the Soul King or something."

"_That's the same God as everyone else's._"

"How do you know?"

"_Lots of studying and trawling through history books and religious texts. Don't sweat the details, kid. Just know that we're one body here. Something as trivial as religion ain't gonna divide us," _the man said.

"_D'aww, look'it Asher, tryin' ta be all cool and dramatic fo' the new gah,"_ another man drawled on the line.

"_Shut it! I was just telling it the way it is!" _the original man snarled back.

Ichigo chuckled to himself as Asher and the new man shot back and forth at each other as others joined in on the banter. Even as they did this, they would send status reports through, occasionally interrupting each other to verify visuals.

But it was strange to hear such hearty laughter and jibes so soon after their comrades had perished. Even the men that had been paying their respects up until now were quickly moving to assist in repairs needed to keep the convoy in shape.

So when the next visual confirmation passed, Ichigo voiced his question. "Don't you guys feel bad for the ones that died today? Don't their deaths mean something to you?"

The quiet that followed was deadly. The wind whistled through the trees, adding to the sudden tension.

"_Visual confirmation needed. 1 o'clock, possible Speculum, more likely a stray animal."_

"_Just a bear, Jace."_

The short exchange broke the silence for just a moment before the drawling man that had been teasing 'Asher' before addressed Ichigo's concerns.

"_It's Itchy-go, right?"_

"Close enough," Ichigo replied.

"_Well, Itchy-go, ya can't think about it like that. We're fightin' a war, son. Thain't no doubt in hell that we gon' lose summa the ladies and gents we know, and we know that cryin' or drownin' ahselves in brew in't much ta do ta honor their passin'."_

"_Instead, think of it like this. Those young'uns down that there fire? They were fightin' like you n me ta beat back the Legion beasties. Thain't gon' be happy ta see us mopin' about afta one of them bites the dust. They gon' wanna see us do what they died tryin' ta do: kill them demons. They'd want us ta avenge them."_

"_So, this is our way of honorin' their deaths. Let their friends do the mournin'. We'll keep the watch and take the fight ta them. Fo' every one of us they kill, we kill a hunned of them. It ain't a bad thing ta feel bad, kiddo. It's a bad thing ta let that stop ya from doing yer job."_

Several men on the line affirmed the drawling man's words.

But Ichigo wasn't convinced. "But they were precious to someone. Would you be able to say that after someone you knew died?"

A small object suddenly hurtled up to Ichigo, causing him to jump backwards.

"_Catch it, ya doofus." _

Ichigo practically threw out his back trying to reverse his trajectory, catching the small brown bundle just as it began to fall.

When he unraveled it, he saw a picture of a young couple smiling at the camera, both holding each other's hands in a way that suggested they were dancing. The woman had her blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, and had twinkling blue eyes. The man with her had a ponytail of his own, and a closely trimmed beard and mustache. His green eyes were a little duller and softer than his female companion's, but still had a glimmer in them as well. Closer inspection revealed that the man had a ring on his left ring finger.

"_That's me n mah wife, Julie. Ain't she a helluva looker? I still don't have the foggiest why she up and married my ugly ass."_

Ichigo and some of the men on the line laughed at his self-injurious remark.

"Where is she now?" Ichigo asked without thinking.

And without missing a beat, the man replied, _"She's dead, son."_

Ichigo froze and immediately felt like a complete idiot. "I'm sorry for—."

"_Aw shut up, boy. Ain't no need ta apologize unless yer the one that went and offed her." _Then, after a pause, he asked jokingly, _"Ya ain't, right?"_

Ichigo stuttered, "N-no! Of course not! I've never even—."

"_Calm down now, I was just playin' witcha. Yeah, she got killed when a buncha Minor bastards came and raided an outpost we were at in force. Those things're real weak, but when ya see 'em comin' and comin' and comin'…things git real sour real fast. Julie was out on patrol. She was one o' the first ta go. I heard it was…quick and painless. An' obviously that hurts somethin' awful. I ain't gon' lie and say I went Terminator when I heard the news, but I can tell ya that I did deal with my shit quick. Tears weren't gon bring my Julie back. Nothin' could. I could only go on and live for her sake. And I could kill as many of 'em demon bastards as I could git my hands on."_

Several grunts of approval rang through Ichigo's earpiece at his words.

"_We've all lost somethin' to these bastards, Itchy-go. Ain't nobody here disrespectin' the dead. But we don't waste time honorin' them either, 'cos that's a form o' disrespect too. Let yer kill-count do the honorin'. The words'll come later."_

At this point, Ichigo noticed many people had been listening to the man's little speech as the outer patrolmen continued to keep watch while listening, and when he finished the last few words, the small crowd of men wooped and let out noises in affirmation.

"_Well said, Harson. Now let's get back to formation," _said the man called Jace.

"_You betcha, sweetie. Hey, toss me down that there picture you got, Itchy-go. Julie don't like bein' handled too long by anyone other than me," _Harson said.

Ichigo wrapped up the picture into its little bundle and looked for the man in the photo. He spotted him just beneath him by one of the munitions carts, and saw that though most of his physical features were the same, he seemed much larger than he looked in the picture, and his eyes were harder and surrounded by wrinkles that were absent in the photo. He let the bundle fall to the man, who caught it deftly and let off a quick two-fingered salute to Ichigo, who awkwardly returned the motion with a full salute. Or at least what he thought was a full salute.

For about an hour Ichigo mulled over Harson's words, focus only broken by occasional visual verifications and an isolated incident of Minor attack, which had consisted of three stray Minors wandering too close to the convoy. Ichigo had spotted them thanks to his bird's eye view, and Harson had been the one to deal with them. The large man wielded what looked like a bladed pick-axe, with a handle that stretched at least three feet in length, ending in a hammer-head that served as a secondary weapon and a counterweight. Despite the heavy appearance of the weapon, Harson had swung it through the demons a dagger.

It seemed Harson had really meant what he said. Every single one of the patrolmen grunted their praise when he returned to formation, as if he'd taken on an entire Legion by himself and won. These men truly fought for the memories of their loved ones, and were completely dedicated to the destruction of demon-kind.

Ichigo was worried, however. Harson had made it clear that everyone in the Underworld had lost someone to the Legions. It was fast looking as though he was completely on the dot, as Ichigo had spotted several patrolmen pull out mementos of the fallen after Harson's rousing monologue. A pocketwatch, a letter, and a pair of dog tags were but a few of the things that Ichigo saw unearthed from their pockets, and more than once he saw them kiss the object reverently, as though praying for the opportunity to kill more of the Legions.

Where did that leave himself and Rukia, then? He suddenly felt out of place, as neither he nor Rukia had faced loss to the Legions. The only reason he was there was to prevent an imminent attack on Karakura. It almost felt like he had just disrespected the whole of the Underworld by asking what he had.

Then he felt a deep fear grip him. These men and women were skilled fighters, there was no doubt about that. Some were probably strong before joining the Underworld as well, and yet they had faced loss. What if, in this foray towards the Russian outpost, Rukia was injured? Or worse—.

He shook his head violently. _Stop. This isn't helping. Rukia got Mathis to help her train. I'm sure she can handle herself.I can look after her as well. I won't let anything happen to her._

"_Contact! Incoming object detected, six-zero-zero meters out from convoy. Confirm," _Silas said urgently, shaking Ichigo out of his daze.

"_Radar presence confirmed," _Harson mumbled. _"'Ay Miranda, you gittin' this?"_

"_The mass of the object suggests it's two human-sized entities. But that platform or whatever it is they're on is _definitely _not biological," _the woman named Miranda responded.

"_Platform?" _Silas asked sharply. _"You're reading a platform?"_

"_Platform. I say again, they are on a non-biological platform,"_ Miranda confirmed.

Ichigo heard a sharp intake of breath. _"Something is wrong," _Silas murmured.

"_Contact closing in. Harson and Jace, move up. Miranda, you're on overwatch. The rest of you, stay frosty,"_ Asher commanded.

But Silas immediately countermanded his orders. _"Stand down. The contact is Mathis. Repeat, the contact is Mathis. All units are to stand down."_

"_Mathis can't account for the mass of two people, sir!" _Miranda protested. _"It must be a trick of some sort."_

"_The platform those two bodies are on is a positive match to one of the weapons Mathis wields. It is a shield with an extremely potent defense-mechanism, so unless you are willing to sacrifice the integrity of a couple of your bones to test your theory, I would advise you to stow your weapon," _Silas said calmly.

A pause.

"_Yes sir,"_the woman said grudgingly.

Ichigo tapped his earpiece and said, "I'm gonna go and make sure it's Mathis that's coming in. I'm not sensing anything."

"_Neither am I..." _Silas said worriedly. _"Be swift."_

Ichigo took off like a rocket the moment Silas gave him the green light. The whole situation was very disconcerting; Mathis had a very obvious aura, even to someone as inept at sensing as Ichigo. So for Silas to be absolutely certain that the incoming entity was Mathis but for neither of them to sense anything from it was worrisome to say the least.

"_Kurosaki, you are about forty meters from Mathis's location. Do you have a visual?"_ Silas asked.

Ichigo looked down and around him, searching for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. It took him a few seconds as he leapt around to spot the two huddled forms approaching on what looked like large, black board. One of the bodies looked up, and to Ichigo's surprise, he saw Rukia's violet eyes stare into his. She then noticed that her shihakusho was badly damaged, and that she bore a few cuts and burns on her pale skin. She held the rags of her uniform to her chest, and had her other hand placed on the familiar, bandaged arm of a prone figure.

Mathis?

"Ichigo!" she called to him.

"Rukia! What's wrong?" he demanded, speeding down to her as quickly as his shunpo would allow.

"Wait!"

Upon reaching the platform and trying to land on it, Ichigo was stunned by an invisible force and flung away at high velocity. He tumbled in the snow a couple of times before managing to slide to a stop.

_What?_

The platform sped past him at brisk pace, with Rukia calling out to him again. He shook the dizziness out of his head and tapped his earpiece.

"Silas, this isn't looking good. The contact is Rukia and Mathis on that shield you were talking about before. Rukia's injured and Mathis looks unconscious. I couldn't get onto the shield—."

"_That is the shield's defense keeping you out,"_ Silas said worriedly. _"Escort them back to the convoy. We'll determine the situation once we've secured them both."_

"Got it," Ichigo replied tersely, leaping into the air and traversing the tree tops. He kept Rukia and Mathis in sight at all times, noting that the shield they traveled on did not move aside for obstacles; somehow it either shifted everything in its path around it like the object was liquid, or pulverized the part of whatever it was that was touching the sphere of effect around the shield. Trees it brushed past swayed like grass, while anything directly in its path was reduced to fine dust.

Within a few moments, the shield had reached the convoy, where it curiously came to rest, though it remained hovering.

"Everyone stay on your toes," said what was ostensibly Asher: a tall, burly man wielding a rune-engraved claymore in a single hand. "Keep your eyes peeled. You see _anything_ weird out there, you call it in. I don't care if it might be some rodent, I want you to treat everything as hostile until determined otherwise."

Silas stepped out of his vehicle and approached the hovering shield.

"How did this happen?" he asked Rukia.

"I don't know. I was asking him something when a strange little ball of light hit him from the side," she said, shaking her head. "When it hit him he suddenly turned us around and teleported us out somewhere far out. Then he put up this shield and collapsed. Didn't even explain what was going on."

Silas remained still, listening to Rukia's recollection with great care. Then he asked, "What color was the ball of light that hit him, and did you manage a glimpse of whatever it originated from?"

She shook her head again.

Silas scratched his chin, mulling over his thoughts, and then tapped his earpiece. "Miranda, is anything showing up on your scans?"

"…_Not that I can see," _Miranda said hesitantly. _"But now that you mention it, a blip keeps forming just at the edge of the scanner's range."_

"Keep an eye on it," Silas said. And if you can, try to get an emission reading. Figure out if it's Legion or not, and if it is, exactly how powerful it is. We must be ready for an imminent attack if our strongest asset is incapacitated."

"In the meantime, double-time repairs. Pull extra shifts if it is necessary; I want everything operational within an hour. Kurosaki, stay with Asher and guard the shield. The rest of you, keep on vigilant watch."

Silas and Asher shared a meaningful look that Ichigo caught from the corner of his eye, Silas shaking his head barely noticeably. With that, Silas turned and returned to the command vehicle.

Asher turned to Rukia, asking "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Rukia said, shifting on her legs a little, "and I'm sure Mathis will be up and about soon."

Asher nodded, but looked a little miffed. Ichigo felt a tingling in the base of his skull, his instinct telling him there was something he and Rukia weren't being told.

He asked, "What could do that to Mathis? Knock him out in one move?"

Asher remained silent for a moment, then tapped his earpiece. "Silas? Permission to relay classified information to Kurosaki Ichigo?"

There was a pregnant pause as Silas considered it, before giving his consent. _"Granted."_

Asher hefted his claymore and shuffled nervously as he began to explain. "Mathis is probably the toughest sonuvabitch I've ever seen, but there are plenty of demons that circumvent physical conflict. There are very few demons that could incapacitate him in this manner, and even then they require extended close contact. The only one that could do that to him instantly at range is a Skull."

_Skull_. The word had long ago been burned into Ichigo's mind with the impression of hellfire. It seemed Asher felt the same way, as his nervous shuffling intensified to a point where Ichigo thought he'd wear away a ditch into the ground from constant movement.

"Do you know what it is?"

"Too well. We call it the Dreamseeker. It's a strong demon, and that's me being simple about it. The Dreamseeker is the only Skull Mathis goes out of his way to avoid."

"Why is that?" Ichigo asks.

"It completely incapacitates an individual and puts 'em into a dream state. When they're in that dream state, the Dreamseeker can control what goes on in their heads, and it typically likes to put us humans through vicious nightmares. I'm sure you get why Mathis tries so hard to avoid it. Even if Silas or Kale were to go down for the count, Mathis could make up for them without breaking a sweat. But they can't do the same for him, and from what we know about Mathis…his nightmares would likely be unbearable."

"It's not so terrible, is it…?" Ichigo asked. "At least we can fight in his stead."

Asher shook his head. "You don't get it, do you? Have you _seen_ the look that comes across the guy's face whenever he's fighting anything Legion? He's made it his sole purpose in life to hack apart every single one of 'em. There are rumors that he slaughtered two of the Legions on his own before he officially joined the Underworld. So for him to be forced into submission by one of 'em…He'd probably go insane from the frustration."

"On top of that, the Dreamseeker's ability spreads like a plague. You keep one guy who's asleep close by, and soon enough your eyelids start feeling like lead, and the ground suddenly looks like the most comfortable five-star hotel bed you've ever seen."

He nodded towards the hovering shield. "That's probably why he threw up that barrier right when he got hit."

"Wait!" Ichigo interrupted. "Then Rukia—."

"She's already gone, kid," Asher said. "Take a look."

Ichigo whipped his head around and saw that she had indeed fallen asleep, and that her expression had grown slightly contorted.

"She's probably going through some nightmare right now, but it's better for it just to be her that's affected than all of us."

Ichigo felt anger rise up in his throat at Asher's seemingly callous remark, only to simmer down after he thought about it. Of course he was right; if the sleep-state spread, they could only face defeat. But if Rukia and Mathis were quarantined, they'd at least have a fighting chance.

"_It's decided. We have no idea how long this forced sleep will keep Mathis and Rukia in their dream trance. The rest of the convoy will move forward, and this command vehicle will remain behind, along with Asher and the foreigner Kurosaki Ichigo. Jace, you will take charge of the convoy in my absence," _Silas relayed to the whole of the Underworld.

As the convoy moved out, Ichigo looked upon Rukia's strained countenance again. He was disturbed by the notion hiding at the back of his mind that he'd willingly sacrifice the whole of the convoy to wake Rukia up, and the strange sensation in his chest that accompanied it. Whatever this parasitic feeling in his chest was, it was slowly starting to infect every thought that crossed his mind.

* * *

_Where am I?_

_How did I get here?_

_What's going on?_

_Why…do I feel so warm?_

Rukia shifted and felt a soft material against her arms. She opened her eyes and struggled to make them focus. She was on a futon, covered by a blanket in what appeared to be a small hut. Somehow her shihakusho had been repaired,

She shook her head and sat up, trying to regain her bearings.

_What is this place?_

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?"

"Rukia! You're awake!"

Rukia stiffened. _I know that voice._

She looked to the doorway and sure enough, there she stood. Hisana.

"But…you—," she stuttered, unable to form coherent sentences.

Before she could gather her thoughts and speak intelligibly, Hisana melted away, as did the walls of the hut. Rukia watched in horror as layer after layer of her older sister disintegrated, from skin to muscle and then to bone.

Speechless, she would have continued to stare at the pile of bones if a slew of voices hadn't called out in terror. She leapt to her feet and whirled around, driven completely by her soldier's instinct.

Shinigami were dying left and right, being cut to ribbons by a figure in the distance. Several explosions rang out as the unknown enemy smashed through flammable supplies, and flames began to stain the bright blue of the scene into a grisly red-gray. She ran as fast as she could to the scene of the slaughter, yelling at the Shinigami to get away.

The figure turned, and Rukia, having reached the point at which she could make out specific details, watched in horror as Ichigo ran a fleeing man through the chest, laughing shrilly as he did it. The makings of a white mask covered the right half of his face, and his eyes had taken on the cast of a Hollow, with black sclera and abnormal white irises. His wide grin was not his, and she knew it. Dread grasped her heart as she realized what she had to do.

She reached to pull her Zanpakuto from its scabbard, but found Sode no Shirayuki missing. She could've sworn she'd felt it at her hip as she was running. Despite the panic it caused her, she discounted the absence of her weapon quickly, deciding to resort instead to Kido. As she tried to pull the spell from her spiritual energy, she felt something wrap around her neck and mouth, pulling her back and preventing her from incanting Red Fire Cannon.

She fumbled with her restraints, and felt heavy weights bog down her arms. Unable to keep her balance, she fell to her knees. She then saw chains binding her arms tightly and snaking their way to two boulders, lodging themselves firmly within them.

She pulled as hard as she could on the chains, but they would not budge. The rope-like extension that trapped her words and bound her neck would not dislodge either, and she could only watch helplessly as Ichigo continued on his bloodbath. She heard Mathis's voice in her head:

"_What would you do but cower behind the cloaks of greater men and women?"_

"Rukia! We'll get you out of there!" called a familiar voice.

_No! Get away, Renji!_

The red-haired Shinigami dropped in front of her, scrabbling to remove the gag and collar that held fast to Rukia like a pair of vices. When that failed, he raised his Zanpakuto to destroy the chains that were holding her down. Several members of Squad 6 advanced, ostensibly to hold back the rampant Ichigo as Renji worked. Rukia saw a flash of white as well, and knew her brother had joined the fight.

_NO! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING? GET AWAY!_

Renji's attempts at freeing her were futile, as the chains sparked and jangled from the impact of Renji's fanged blade but otherwise showed no signs of damage.

A _boom _behind Renji threw him slightly off balance, revealing the carnage that was taking place behind him. Another flash of white flew past her, only this time it was accompanied by a gratuitous amount of red.

She was crying by this point, frustrated that she could do nothing but watch as Squad 6 fell by the dozens, leaderless and crippled. The black blade that had once saved her was now cutting bloody swathes through the Shinigami of her brother and best friend's platoon, wielded by a man that she had trained to stop but could not.

Renji seemed to realize freeing her was futile at this point, and turned to see who was left. Seeing only a handful of his comrades remaining, he turned back to Rukia and, after a deep breath, said, "I'll lead him away."

_NO, DON'T! JUST RUN!_

"Over here, you stupid bastard!" Renji bellowed, catching the Hollowfied Ichigo's attention. A bright red flash indicated that Renji had released his serpentine Bankai, and the subsequent sounds of cracking and explosions told Rukia that Renji would not last long, even with the powerful release.

She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to someone, _anyone_:

_Please let this nightmare end._

"_Why should I__?"_

Rukia's bonds suddenly disappeared, and she braced herself as she fell forward with her freed hands, coughing as air flowed into her lungs without hindrance. She looked up and saw complete blackness.

She reached for her Zanpakuto, which she had miraculously materialized again, and drew it into a ready stance.

"Show yourself!"

She turned and turned, expecting someone or something to charge at her from the depths of the blackness, but nothing came.

"_My naiive little girl, I cannot do that. It is not yet time to reveal myself to the likes of you."_

The voice continued,_ "Funny thing, dreams. They can do so much. They can give joy. They can give hope. But that's no fun. Nightmares are much more interesting You get to see everyone's deepest, most deep-seated fears. You can see who a person really is."_

"_Or, if you're me, you get to enjoy the torment you bring upon those afflicted with such terrors. Take this one, for example."_

A blink later, Rukia found herself standing in rubble. Corpses of both human and demonic origin littered the ground, and only three figures could be seen. Rukia saw herself standing alongside Ichigo, and Mathis knelt by one of the bodies, searching it intently.

"He is dead. This is most disturbing. Kale should be back in Japan, defending your hometown," Mathis said stoically. He looked around, as though searching for something. "Silas is nowhere to be found, either."

He turned to face Ichigo and Rukia's clone. "What exactly transpired here?"

Not a word.

Rukia leapt forward and tried to warn him, as her sixth sense began to tingle, but was quickly restrained by an invisible force that wrenched her off the ground and suspended her in the air, rendered unable to move.

"_Now, now, little girl. This is the fun part. Be quiet and watch closely."_

Mathis appeared irritated, and simplified his question. "What happened—."

A blur and Mathis swayed to the side, dodging Ichigo's cleaver-like weapon with ease.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mathis said, deathly calm overtaking his voice.

Ichigo looked Mathis straight in the eye and said in a mocking tone Rukia had never heard before, "I killed them all."

Mathis did not hesitate; he immediately materialized the chains from his bandages and attacked Ichigo, who flash-stepped away to release his Bankai. Mathis moved to intercept him, but was blocked by Rukia, who had begun her First Dance.

"Tsukishiro!"

The pillar of ice came too quickly for Mathis to block, and he was forced to displace, leaping back and landing amidst the rubble next to the real Rukia. She watched as Ichigo swung his longsword tauntingly at Mathis.

"Yeah, that's right. I killed every single one of these bastards. With her help, of course," Ichigo smirked, gesturing toward a similarly snide-faced Rukia. "All according to plan. Soul Society can clean up the rest of your little gang back home at their leisure."

"No matter. I will simply eliminate you and rebuild."

"Whoa, whoa, wait up a second," Ichigo said, holding up a hand. "Don't you want to keep your little sister safe?"

Immediately, a wave of the caustic aura swept over Rukia, who snarled past clenched teeth. "What have you done with her?"

Ichigo shrugged in mock ignorance. "Hey, I haven't done anything. Yet. You can ask her yourself," he said as he reached behind him. He dragged Sarah out from somewhere behind him, and tossed her to the ground. Her hands were bound, and a rope led from her neck to something behind Ichigo Rukia could not see.

"Matty, help me," Sarah cried out pitifully.

The aura radiating from Mathis intensified immensely. It became too much to bear, but suddenly disappeared.

"_Can't let you get hurt, can we? That would distract you from the show," _the voice said with a laugh.

The Rukia in Mathis's nightmare, however, was not so lucky and was unprotected. Her skin seemed to sizzle, and her Zanpakuto began to drip water. Her snide expression was gone, replaced by a pained grimace. She retreated to a safe distance, standing closely next to Ichigo.

"You will release her immediately."

"Or what?" Ichigo asked calmly. He placed the tip of his Bankai on the back of Sarah's neck, causing her to gasp and tremble. "You think you're fast enough to kill me before my sword cuts her a new airhole?"

Mathis was wordless, but Rukia could see his hands clench tightly at Ichigo's words. "If you kill her, there will be nothing stopping me from completely and utterly annihilating you."

Ichigo thought about it. Then:

"You know what? I'll probably die either way. Might as well take the pipsqueak with me."

The next few moments seemed to go in slow-motion for Rukia, who watched in horror as the tip of Ichigo's Zanpakuto emerged from the front of Sarah's neck. The little girl's expression turned from that of horror to complete slack as the life left her body. Ichigo withdrew his blade with a flick of his wrist, letting Sarah's lifeless form to fall to the rubble.

Mathis let out a deafening roar, screaming unintelligible words. He gestured at Ichigo and Rukia with both hands and made a crushing motion, as though he were squeezing a balloon. Both of the Shinigami were gruesomely compacted into a single miniscule pinprick before vanishing into thin air. The sounds of bones cracking hadn't even reached Rukia's ears by the time Mathis had run to Sarah's side. His back was turned to Rukia, so she couldn't see what he was doing, but it seemed fairly apparent that he was stricken by the death.

The terrible vista was suddenly blacked out, and Rukia was released from her invisible restraints.

"_Magnificent, isn't it? To be able mold a person's worst nightmare into reality?"_

It took Rukia a moment to process what the voice had just said, and when she finally understood its implication, she denied it. "You can't possibly make that real!"

"_Of course I can't. But I can make it seem real enough to enrage little Jericho into letting loose his hatred in the real world. I can leave enough bits and pieces around him to fool his little human brain into drawing all the right connections, trick his brain into forming false memories. For all the perfect coincidences to happen when I arrive with _her_! I rarely ever get the chance to enjoy such sweet fruits of my labor, and to think it'll be Mathis that I get to see at last! Oh, what a treat indeed! I've long dreamt of this day! "_

With a malevolent chuckle, the voice murmured, _"I'll give you a head start. Have fun…"_

Rukia felt a pull on her waist, and grunted in surprise as she fell onto the snowy ground, shihakusho in tatters once again. She covered herself quickly, and looked around frantically. A single truck remained nearby, and she saw Ichigo and a tall man with a 2-handed sword conversing nearby. Mathis was nowhere to be seen.

"Ichigo!" she cried out, catching his attention.

"She's awake!" the tall man exclaimed, rushing over to her with Ichigo close behind.

"Are you ok?" Ichigo asked worriedly.

"The hell? Where the shit is Mathis?" the tall man exclaimed, looking around for his unconscious form and his hovering shield, both of which seemed to have simply vanished.

Rukia silenced him with a wave of her hand. "There's no time! Someone's made Mathis to believe that Ichigo and I were responsible for Sarah's death. We need to find cover and—."

"What?!"

Rukia turned and saw Silas, standing in the doorway of the truck's trailer. "Are you sure of this? 100% sure?"

She was slightly taken aback at how quickly he'd decided to accept her words as truth, but grateful that he was quick to catch on. "Yes. He was shown a nightmare of Sarah being killed, and the voice said it was going to make him believe that it actually happened."

Silas swore loudly and motioned to the truck. "We must leave. NOW."

"But what about Mathis?" the tall man inquired urgently. "We need to go find him!"

"Right now Mathis is the last person we need to worry about. We have the advantage of transport. The rest of the convoy has moved ahead to save time. We must catch up and double their pace. We can retrieve Mathis at a later time."

"We can't just leave him out there—," Ichigo objected.

"Do not ask questions!" Silas bellowed. "We need to move immediately!"

Ichigo seemed a bit miffed at Silas's uncharacteristic outburst, but he complied. He scooped Rukia up in his arms and dashed for the trailer, followed by his tall companion. The moment they were inside the trailer and the door was shut, Silas commanded, "Ackerson! Full speed, now! We need to reach the convoy immediately!"

Without hesitation, the driver floored it, sending the truck lurching forward.

Silas grabbed a spare uniform from a cubby and handed it to Rukia. "Change quickly. We will need you combat-ready in the event that—." He trailed off and muttered to himself.

Rukia would not normally have obliged, but the near-manic look in Silas's eyes told her that now was not the time to hold onto her Shinigami pride. She stepped past a partition in the trailer and replaced her torn shihakusho with the uniform, which felt like light armor compared to the cloth of her own garb.

An echoing scream rang out in the distance, guttural and colored with rage. Rukia didn't know if she was simply imagining it, but it seemed like the trailer had rocked from the sound.

She dashed over to the front of the trailer, where she saw Silas look up, expression grim.

"Was that him?" she asked.

"Yes and no," Silas answered cryptically. "It is not the right time nor place to reveal the nature of such things."

He glanced at Ichigo and let out a long breath through his nose.

"If you see Mathis, Kurosaki, Kuchiki, treat him as an enemy. Because right now, that is exactly how he sees you both. And he will not hesitate to kill you on sight."

"Be prepared for a fight to the death."


	19. Three and a Half Trees

**Welcome back to the next chapter of what is quickly becoming a monthly updated story! I hope the wait hasn't killed too many of you. Thank you all for being patient, and I hope that this update is to your liking, as we steadily approach the next major point in the narrative. Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!**

**Mood Music:**

**Shiro Sagisu – Emergence of the Haunted**

**Princess in Captivity**

**Linkin Park – Ppr:Kut**

**Chapter 18 – Three and a Half Trees**

"Eliminate the airborne demons! The groundwalkers cannot attack us if they cannot keep up!" Silas bellowed, swinging a large shard of ice through the air and skewering a winged Minor neatly through its chest.

An hour had passed since they'd fled from Mathis. Once they'd met up with the rest of the convoy, Silas had commanded that all vehicles were to maintain full speed to destination, which put their ETA to roughly four or five hours provided their fuel tanks were regularly replenished, which was no easy task considering the trucks were not stopping for anything. Shortly after, a horde of demons had set upon them, trying to intercept them. From that point on, it had been a veritable shooting gallery, riflemen trying to down the winged demons before they boarded the wide roofs of the many trailers in the convoy. Those that did survive the withering fusillade of bullets were immediately cut down by the riflemen with melee weapons, or by other soldiers waiting with their own weapons at the ready.

Silas had leapt to the lead vehicle, followed closely by Ichigo and Rukia. Rukia and Silas eliminated the flyers as they tried to board the vehicle, while Ichigo cut through them with numerous slashes of his enormous cleaver.

_If only I'd learned how to use the cloth like _he_ did_…Ichigo thought to himself, remembering his Inner Hollow's bizarre, flail-like use of Zangetsu.

A couple of Minors leapt in front of the lead vehicle, hoping to make it swerve or throw it off course, but were unsuccessful like their comrades before them. Silas had fastened a makeshift ice plow to the front of the vehicle and two cars to their left and right flanks, allowing them to eviscerate any demons that had the gall to obstruct their path.

Occasionally, however, a pair of Raiders would zip forward, running astride the truck. Before Silas or Rukia could hit them, they'd dash far away, and then turn to ram the vehicle as hard as they could. A couple of times they'd come dangerously close to toppling over, saved only by Silas and Rukia's manipulation of ice, which they'd used to "push" the truck back upright.

Two Specters had snuck up on Ichigo, trying to cut him down or at least knock him off balance so the rest of the demons could swarm them as they had on the occupants of the vehicle to their rear-left. But Rukia had sensed their approach and burned holes in their armor with kido, allowing Ichigo to hear the frayed edges of their broken bone plating vibrating in the cold air. Ichigo then blasted one with Getsuga Tensho, and Silas had slain the other with a series of bullet-like icicles.

"Kurosaki! You and Kuchiki must take to the air!" Silas grunted, slamming a daibo-like projection of ice into an incoming Minor. "You will give us more room to maneuver if you can keep them occupied away from the convoy. Kuchiki, remember how to use the device I gave you?"

Rukia nodded once, tapping the earpiece to show her understanding of the device.

"Then go!"

Without missing a beat, the two Shinigami nodded and took the sky. Rukia drew her sword and released it with a quick chant, and promptly sent a wave of snow and ice through the air, catching a dozen of the airborne Minors off-guard.

"You sure know how to make an entrance," Ichigo quipped.

"Look who's talking? Who swooped in with a cloak and blocked the Soukyoku with just his Shikai just as it was about to execute me?" she replied, readying for imminent attack.

"Good point."

A bulk of the Legion forces peeled away from the convoy, electing to eliminate this new airborne threat. Ichigo and Rukia set about killing the offending demons, sending them hurtling to the ground where the trucks would crush them under-wheel.

It was much easier for them to deal with the demons thanks to their previous experiences with them in Karakura. Minors, despite their superhuman strength, were no match for the biting edge of Zangetsu, nor could they block Rukia's kido and Realmcraft, dropping like flies left and right as they tried to bull-rush the two Shinigami. Even the Specters, which had given Ichigo some trouble on their first encounter, were now much easier pickings. Their silent movements still gave Ichigo some distress, but he was able exploit their porous armor by destroying a part of it, which broke their silence. After that, they were little more than oversized Minors, falling quickly in conventional combat.

Ichigo had begun to gain confidence when an Underworld soldier bellowed at the top of her lungs.

"HUNTER-KILLERS!"

"What the hell is—."

_Whumpf. _A solid mass catapulted into Ichigo from behind, smashing into him with great force and sending him flying to the ground away from the convoy. He tumbled several meters before sliding to a stop. He leapt to his feed and looked for his assailant, but nothing was there.

"Ichigo!" he heard Rukia call.

"_Maintain your position, Ms. Kuchiki! We need your aerial support! Jace! Take your fastest men and retrieve Kurosaki! He must not fall behind!"_

"_Roger that," _he heard Jace respond coolly. _"Jackson. Richards. Let's get the kid back on track!" _

Ichigo raised a hand to touch his earpiece, but was forced to leap back and swing his sword to block a large spine hurtling towards him.

He settled into a defensive stance, the flat of his great cleaver facing his attacker.

Standing before him was a medium-sized, bipedal creature that stood on its knuckles much like a gorilla would. A single plate of bone covered its chest, and from its back a forest of razor-sharp spines bristled like trees. Its teeth were filed to sharp, triangular edges, and it possessed a pyramidal faceplate that extended from the creature's forehad to several inches from where its nose would be. Presumably, Ichigo was looking at a Hunter-Killer, the thing that had brought him down from the air.

"You're one ugly bastard," Ichigo quipped. He raised his sword and brought it down with great force, concentrating his reiatsu on the very tip of the blade. A plume of dense energy flared out from the sword and raced towards the demon, who narrowly dodged it. It responded by yanking out two of the giant spines on its back and throwing them at Ichigo. He blocked one and dodged the other, noticing that they travelled much faster than the smaller spines Minors fired from their forearms, and caused much more damage as well, evidenced by the splintering of an unfortunate evergreen's trunk behind him. The spines quickly regenerated in the holes left by thrown spines, allowing the Hunter-Killer to pull out more of them and continuously barrage Ichigo.

After several volleys of the heavy spines, Ichigo saw an opening and dove forward, seeking to take advantage of it. He lowered his body close to the ground to minimize his profile and to prepare for an upswing, sucking his whole body into a single point to allow him to explode outward with great force. The Hunter-Killer must have realized his tactic, because it too dashed forward, forcing Ichigo to unfurl from his spring-loaded stance to meet the demon's strike.

Zangetsu crashed into two of the Hunter-Killer's spines, which it was wielding like daggers. He yanked his weapon back forcefully, pulling one of the Hunter-Killer's arms to the side, and then quickly slashed upwards across its armored chest.

The blow glanced off the demon's thick armor, and nicked its right arm as he followed through. The Hunter-Killer snarled, more enraged than hurt. It leapt into the air, curled its body into a ball, and plummeted towards Ichigo with deadly precision, spines facing downward as it fell. He dodged it easily, but was unprepared for the Hunter-Killer's quick rebound; it landed on its spines and rolled quickly to its feet, and used its momentum to barrel into Ichigo, giant fists in front of it like a sledgehammer.

Ichigo grunted and tumbled away, using Zangetsu to slow down. The Hunter-Killer bounded towards him for a follow-up strike, but was cut off by a pair of tall men wielding two rapiers each, one long and one short. The Hunter-Killer reared back to avoid running into the sharp blades, and swatted at the two with its spines. They parried neatly and drilled through the armor on its chest with deep, lighnting-fast lunges.

"Kurosaki Ichigo located. We will be back to the convoy momentarily," said the soldier named Jace, who helped Ichigo to his feet. His dark skin contrasted sharply with the snow, but somehow made him seem much more dangerous, as though he were some sort of apex predator that didn't need to hide from anything. There was a familiar glint in his eye, and Ichigo remembered where he'd seen it before. In Mathis's eyes. The hardened stare of a man who was driven.

_We've all lost somethin' to these bastards, Itchy-go…_Harson's voice echoed through his mind.

And again, he was seized with panic. _I can't let anything happen to Rukia._

"Mr. Kurosaki. Get moving. We will take care of this one here and catch up," Jace said calmy, brandishing a long spear. He charged forward and stabbed at the Hunter-Killer, who screamed in frustration and agony, smashing its fists through the air to strike down its assailants.

Ichigo took off like a speeding bullet. He hadn't landed exceedingly far from the convoy, but the combination of his movements while he'd engaged the Hunter-Killer and the speed at which the convoy had been moving put him far behind.

"No choice…" he grunted. "Bankai!"

A burst of black reiatsu propelled him forward, and the speed his Bankai granted him sent him hurtling through the air at breakneck speed. A few more flash-steps and—.

He coughed.

Something.

Something cold.

Something was hurting.

There was fire and ice…

In his throat.

He touched it…

…the sharp object protruding from his neck.

A surge of dread spread from the puncture wound—.

**Į͞ W͟͠I̵̶̛L̢̧L̡͘ ̷́Ś̛͞͠L̷̛͝͡A͜Ų̕͢͝G̸̡̕͝H̕͝TE͡R ͠Ỳ͠O̷̴͘Ù͟͞**

He gasped, and scrabbled to pull out the object lodged in his throat.

But it had disappeared.

"What the hell?"

"Ichigo! What the hell are you spacing out for?" called Rukia.

He'd caught up to the convoy.

But what was—?

"_Kurosaki! You are needed above! Repel the boarders!"_

Ichigo shook his head and stored the strange vision away. He would deal with it later.

* * *

"Ackerson! What is the status of the outpost?"

"_Blank channels, sir! No outbound signals of any kind!"_

Silas swore. Something was painfully wrong.

"All units, prepare for disembarkation! ETA to the outpost is 2 minutes. I want everyone to be ready the moment your feet hit the ground!"

In the split second he turned to swing the icy spear in his hand at the Specter engaged with Kuchiki, he saw something strange.

Standing in the relatively open tundra preceding the grounds of the outpost were four tall, black-barked trees, needles swaying as the convoy rushed past them. But the fourth tree, the one standing in the midst of the other three, looked strange. Its bark was smooth, and its black coloration was a deeper black than any other Silas had ever seen. No leaves or needles grew from any of the many strange, serpentine branches it had, which seemed to be writhing in the air independent of the wind's direction.

Then he had turned his head, taking careful aim as he threw his icy weapon.

He failed to notice that the tree too, had turned its head.

* * *

Ichigo swore as another Specter tried to mire him in combat. He quickly disposed of the quiet demon, only to find that another pair of Legion grunts had taken to trying to overturn one of the trailers at the end of the convoy. A speedy slash ensured that they disintegrated into dust.

The past few hours had been like this; the demons seemed to gush forth from every crevice of the earth, and their efforts did not cease despite the crushing number of casualties they had sustained. Thankfully, the Underworld's losses were minimal, but Ichigo imagined the constant fighting for the past few hours would likely leave the soldiers weary and vulnerable when they had to switch gears to defend the outpost. Silas's transmissions made it exceedingly clear that the situation at the outpost was less than favorable, and that everyone would need to remain on high alert even if the fighting were to stop.

So when the outpost finally came into view, Ichigo was surprised to see the soldiers charge out of the trailers and leap off their rooftops to engage the demons still haranguing the convoy. Once again, he was reminded of the fact that these were men and women that lived their whole lives fighting. A few hours wouldn't tucker them out so easily.

Another Hunter-Killer prepared for a leap several meters away, eyes trained on Rukia. As it sprang forward, Ichigo moved quickly to intercept, slamming his Zanpakuto down on the large demon's spiny back. Though it caused it little damage, the blow sent the demon plummeting to the ground, where a burly Underworld soldier barreled into it at high speed, unloading a series of shotgun shells into the beast's armored chest as he carried it several feet and finishing with a palm-strike, causing the weakened chest plate to cave in and puncture the Hunter-Killer's flesh underneath.

Ichigo gave the soldier a thumbs-up, and leapt towards Rukia, who was busy fending off two Minors and an overzealous Raider. A couple of gashes in her Underworld uniform attested to the Raider's semi-successful efforts, and Ichigo made sure to eviscerate the demon after helping Rukia dispatch the two Minors.

As the Raider's entrails followed its body to the ground, sizzling as they melted away into ashes and then nothingness, Ichigo asked, "Are you ok?"

Rukia was panting, but managed to reassure Ichigo with a steady voice. "I'm alright. We just need to take this outpost and we'll be able to catch a breather."

Ichigo nodded. "Let's get to it then!" he said, slapping her back energetically.

He took two steps through the air and then—.

Fire and ice.

Through his chest, where his heart was.

He gasped like a fish out of water.

Tried to grasp the triangular object protruding from his body.

**D̛͠IĘ͢**

**D͘͢I̢͡Ę̢̀**

**D̶I͏͜Ȩ̷**

And coughed, awkwardly fumbling at the nonexistent wound. He whirled around, trying to find his assailant, and saw instead Rukia, clutching her chest and hacking as well. Their eyes met, and they realized that both of them had felt the same thing, heard the same words.

Rukia's lips parted, and a single word left her mouth, whispered like a forbidden curse.

"Mathis."

"How do you know?"

But before Rukia answered, Ichigo's own subconscious reminded him. A battle he'd fought not too long ago in order to save Rukia's life had been preceded by a similar event. The memory came back all at once, and the sensations he'd felt at the time rose to the surface of his mind one after another. The overwhelming weight of foreign reiatsu that had cascaded down upon his shoulders like an ocean, the terror that had gripped his limbs in its skeletal grasp, and, most importantly, the cold feeling of metal piercing his chest from behind, followed by searing hot pain and the sensation of blood dripping from the wound. Except the wound had not been there. It had been nothing but a projection of the Captain of Squad 11's killing intent.

He now realized the gravity of the situation. Why Silas had been so adamant on leaving Mathis behind and running away with Rukia and Ichigo in tow. Why he'd sent Jace and the others to ensure his safety and return to the convoy. Despite the harsh battle they'd had to fight to get to the outpost as quickly as they had, as well as the casualties they'd taken, however minimal they were, Silas could not afford to have Ichigo nor Rukia unwittingly draw Mathis to the battalion when they were not prepared for a serious engagement. And this projection of Mathis's willingness to kill him as well as Rukia was evidence enough that he would try to end their lives, even if there was collateral damage inflicted.

"I've felt—," Rukia started, trying to explain what she meant. But Ichigo cut her off quickly, having already realized what was happening.

"Never mind, I think I get it. We need to take this outpost fast, and we need to let Silas know what's going on. He'll think of something."

Without waiting for her response, Ichigo jetted forward, driving himself as fast as he could in order to cut down the demons surrounding the outpost.

* * *

"There's nobody here."

Silas looked around what was ostensibly the main hub of the outpost, and promptly ordered two teams to reconnoiter the neighboring control hubs. Moments after they'd left, Ichigo asked, straight and to the point.

"What the hell do we do now? We've got the base, but there's no one here, and Mathis is still back where we left him."

"We must secure this location. We've cleared out the Legion troops that were chasing us earlier as well as the lingerers that were around the outpost, but we are not nearly prepared enough for a more sustained attack or siege. Preparations for such things will take time. Once we're finished here, we will retrieve Mathis."

Ichigo snapped, "Enough with the vague shit, Silas. We need to know what exactly is going on. Why is getting your comrade back such a low priority to you? What exactly aren't you telling us about Mathis?"

Silas snapped back, equally frustrated. "There is nothing you need to know that you haven't already deduced, Kurosaki. It is dangerous to be on the receiving end of Mathis's fury, and even more dangerous to also be considered his enemy. You and Kuchiki are a victim of both and more, thanks to the Dreamseeker. We need to figure out a way to convince Mathis that what transpired in his nightmare was not real, but we cannot even do that because we don't understand what memories the Dreamseeker made real, and which it has modified. So to retrieve him when we are weak and unprepared for Legion attack is perhaps the most foolish thing we could possibly do. And on top of that, the outpost we came to liberate is missing all of its Underworld personnel, meaning we won't be finding out what happened here. Not the easy way, at least. That leaves us in the dark, with little to no intel. To have no tactical intelligence on the battlefield is to invite disaster."

He rubbed his temples and surveyed the abandoned equipment, as if trying to discern a pattern from what was strewn about the floor.

Rukia, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"Silas? Do you feel that?"

The man looked at Rukia and asked, "Feel what?"

"_That_. You can't feel that?"

Silas and Ichigo both closed their eyes to reduce distraction, straining to feel what Rukia felt. Ichigo could not feel anything, but was not surprised, as his spiritual sense was abymsal to begin with. But Silas seemed to have sensed it, as he opened his eyes and furrowed his brows even deeper.

"I feel it. I do not quite know where I've felt that presence before, but we must not go off of shaky assumptions. If it gets any closer, alert me at once. I will entrust that task to you, Kuchiki, as it seems your ability to perceive these entities is more finely tuned than mine." Silas said, turning to her with an approving nod.

At that moment, the three of them heard startling news through their earpieces. Asher.

"_We've found two of the men originally stationed here. Deceased. We're in Hub 3. I'll leave men here to keep an eye on the bodies. We're going to push further out to see if we can't find any more."_

Silas motioned for Ichigo and Rukia to follow, issuing orders to the soldiers left behind. "Re-establish this location as Main Control. All equipment is to pass through this location to their appropriate stations."

As he walked, he conversed with the men stationed by the two bodies. "Have you secured the location?"

"_Never was a need, LT. There's nothing here. Not even a trace of Legion blood _or_ human. Asher took several men with him to investigate further, but so far there's just nothing here. These two bodies were all we found."_

"Cause of death?"

"_Massive trauma to the shoulders and chest. Looks like something bit them and tried to eat them, but it definitely wasn't Legion. Got a funny feel to its presence."_

"Understood. We'll be there shortly."

A second voice chimed in the radio.

"_Ay, bossman, we're getting some kinda funky readin' by the west-wing hub. You want me n the boys ta go chekkit out?" _Harson drawled.

"We sensed it too. Have Miranda scope it out, but do not engage under any circumstances."

"_Roger that."_

They rounded a corner, and suddenly the two Shinigami stopped in their tracks, blasted by a reiatsu they'd not felt for a long time. The two bodies lay several meters ahead of them, propped up against a desk. Two men patrolled the room's perimeter, saluting as Silas approached.

Silas noticed the two Shinigami missing from behind him, and turned to address them. "What's the matter?"

"Those wounds…" Rukia murmured. "They reek of Hollows."

Silas stood there wordlessly, seemingly unable to wrap his head around this new development.

"Hollows?" he finally asked. "The strange spirit-creatures we saw in Japan?"

"Yeah," Ichigo responded, approaching the two corpses by the nearest control desk. "Is it so strange that there are Hollows here, Rukia?"

"Yes... If what you've told us so far is right, I'd think that Hollows are centered around Japan," she said slowly to Silas. She traced the puncture marks on the first man's body, fingers running across his bloodied uniform. "Now that I think about it, Soul Society isn't large enough to house all the deceased of the world. And our culture is almost entirely Japanese. That would probably mean we're unique to the Japanese region of the World of the Living. And if that's the case, I imagine that our targets, the Hollows, are also unique to our area."

Ichigo recognized her words. "Asher said something about different cultures having different views of God. He said your Soul King was the same God everyone believed in. Maybe that means Soul Society is some kind of afterlife meant just for the Japanese?"

Rukia nodded. "That's what I'm thinking too."

"Dammit…How did I not see it before…?" Ichigo groaned.

"See what?"

Ichigo explained, "The first couple times I fought Mathis, he didn't recognize Hollows at all. Kept referring to them as creatures, and said once that they weren't what he was looking for."

"It doesn't make sense, though," he continued. "You and Mathis came from another part of the planet. If he was really capable of fighting Hollows, he would have seen them before, and dealt with them before. But he even approached me the second time because he wanted to know what the hell they were."

"Sound logic," Silas said. "I can guarantee you, none of us have ever seen such 'Hollows,' before, myself included. I had assumed that maybe they only appeared in Japan because it was their preferred hunting ground."

She looked meaningfully at Silas. "The Wasteland. You said that areas in the Wasteland were synonymous to the areas of the Living World, right?"

"That is correct."

"I remember the first thing I thought of when I entered the Wasteland for the first time. The Academy taught us a little about the world of the Hollows, known as Hueco Mundo. Its primary characteristic was that it was like a desert: full of sand and arid air."

"And you believe that this Hueco Mundo is a part of the Wasteland," Silas said.

Rukia nodded. "Assuming that's right, the Hollows' ability to open portals to the Living World, Garganta, is probably like the translocators you contest the Legions for control of. They're able to open these temporary portals at will, but they don't stay open for very long, and they probably only let them move from the Hueco Mundo region of the Wasteland to the same part of Japan. If we assume that Hueco Mundo is indeed a part of the Wasteland, all the characteristics match up. And if that's the case—."

"—how are Hollows here, in Russia?" Silas finished.

A heavy silence fell upon the three of them.

"Wait a minute, guys. You're not…saying they've teamed up, are you?" Ichigo asked warily.

"It's not impossible," Rukia said. "But why would they? It doesn't seem like they have the same goals. Why would a Hollow let go of a human it caught? The only reason I can think of is because it was fighting over it with a demon."

"I agree. This isn't quite a sound military movement either," Silas said. "Assuming your Hollows and the Legions are actually in league with each other, what enemy would show their hand so carelessly? By leaving these two corpses, an entirely new plot has been laid bare to us, even if we don't understand it fully."

The three stood quietly, trying to connect the dots.

Then…

"_Silas! We've been ambushed! Contacts swarming us from just outside the west wing!"_

Silas quickly responded, voice deceptively calm. "Can you give an estimated number and identify the threat?"

"_Too many to count! She's here! High-level threat—."_

The connection suddenly cut out, silencing Asher, and all that came over the earpieces were intermittent bursts of static and the sounds of battle. Booms and resounding thumps echoed from a distant part of the outpost.

Silas tapped his earpiece again, switching to a universal frequency. "This is Silas. A large-scale ambush has been put into motion by the enemy. All units with tasks designated Priority Three or below are to drop everything and mobilize. Point of origin: west wing. You have five minutes. Go."

The two men patrolling the room immediately dashed down one of the hallways, followed by Silas. Ichigo and Rukia made to follow them, but Silas motioned for them to stay.

"_We can't risk Mathis seeing you. He's getting closer, but if we use the chaos of this battle to shield your presence, we may be able to avoid a major confrontation until we are able to quell the ambush. Protect the central hub. The Legion will try to wrest it from us. If they do, we will be forced to fight on two fronts."_

Ichigo wanted to argue but chose to avoid the contention, knowing that Silas was already under immense stress and that questioning his orders would probably worsen things. He bounded forward, traversing the hallway from which they'd come in just a couple steps, followed closely by Rukia.

"These guys really don't know when to take a break, huh?" Ichigo grunted as he sped down the halls, straining to remember which direction they'd come from.

"We knew what we signed up for, Ichigo. Besides, you fought the 13 Court Squads with just four people once. I'm sure you'll manage," Rukia said reassuringly, a wry smile threatening to break her stoic expression.

The two reached the large, central control room in a matter of seconds, witnessing several technicians scurrying about, scrambling to make essential repairs and bring the outpost back online.

The loud booming sounds in the distance continued to rock the building, sending plumes of dust and other bits of refuse tumbling to the ground from the ceiling. Many men and women were brought in, all sporting various degrees of injury. A medical tent of some sort had been erected in the open region of the control room, and Sarah had taken refuge there, along with a couple others.

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like this. It's too cramped in here for a fight. If some of those bastards manage to break through, we're in trouble."

As if they had been summoned by his words, a throng of Minors came stampeding down the hall Ichigo and Rukia had come from.

"You HAD to open your mouth?!" Rukia snapped, brandishing her Zanpakuto.

The two Shinigami easily cut into the small group of Minors, but it was not the only crowd to assault them. It seemed the battle outside had taken a turn for the worse, as the injured began to crowd the room, and more and more of the demons spilled forward, trying to get at the bloodied soldiers within the structure. A Hunter-Killer had smashed in a section of one of the halls, leaving a gaping hole through which more of the Legions had poured in. It took great effort for Ichigo to kill the offending Hunter-Killer as Rukia sealed the hole as best she could with ice. But the volume of incoming demons barely decreased, if at all.

"We can't stay here!" Ichigo grunted as a Specter tried to muscle its way past him. A flick of Tensa Zangetsu sent its head and sword-arm flying, and the blade's momentum carried it into a Raider that had unfortunately timed its advanced with the Specter's death.

"We can't leave either!" Rukia responded. "If we leave the wounded behind, they'll be vulnerable!"

"But if we don't help the others fight, there's gonna be nothing _but_ wounded!"

"Ay. Itchy-go! Rukia!"

Both of them turned in response to their names, and saw Harson, standing tall and ushering in men carrying injured soldiers.

"Silas wen' n told me ta take care of the beat-up guys! Both o y'all git up on outta here. I'll take care o the base here with mah boy Jace."

"Make haste. The ambush has become a full-scale attack, and the guys up front will need the reinforcements," said Jace, who'd just helped carry in a soldier missing a limb.

Ichigo shared a glance with Rukia. Something was odd. Silas's last words had been to remain in the control hub to avoid being seen by Mathis as well as protecting it from inevitable Legion attack. Even their hasty escape and hectic battle above the convoy had been all to put as much distance between them and Mathis, as well as to attempt to fortify a position in preparation for his imminent attack. Silas's new orders contradicted everything he'd said and ordered up until this point.

Perhaps that meant they were very close to losing the fight.

Both of them double-timed it out of the base, smashing through the ice wall Rukia had formed and sealing it up behind them. A perfunctory scan of the grounds surrounding the base quickly identified the center of the conflict: located far at the edge of the base.

A quick flurry of flash-steps sent both Shinigami to the fight in the blink of an eye. Immediately, a pair of Raiders blitzed forward from what appeared to be a hole in the air, and attacked Rukia, who was standing a bit further ahead than Ichigo was. A quick slash and flourish of her hand sent both hurtling to the snow-covered ground, frozen solid.

"Split! We'll cover more ground that way!"

Ichigo nodded and took off in the other direction.

And was met with black.

Nothingness.

Nothi—.

* * *

Rukia hit the ground running, brandishing her pure-white Zanpakuto every step of the way, beheading a pair of Minors and running a Raider through the chest.

"It took you long enough to get here!" called a voice. She turned and saw Silas head her way, a spear of ice in his hand, stained red by the blood of fallen demons. Even as he approached her, he cracked down on a Specter's skull with the weapon like a hammer, smashing the monster's armored skull like an egg.

"Where is Ichigo?" he asked when he caught up to her, heaving as he threw the bloodied weapon at a trio of Minors, sending it drilling through them like a skewer.

"I sent him the other way to help with the other front," Rukia said, parrying a Minor's straight and returning with a razor-sharp spine of ice through its teeth and the back of its neck. "I hope that's not too troublesome."

"It's acceptable," Silas replied, "With both of you here, we should be able to push them back."

Rukia said nothing, letting her Zanpakuto dance through the Legion forces. Something wasn't quite right. There was the strange presence at the very edge of her perception again, and something else was nagging her, tickling her intuition.

As the battle raged on, it seemed Silas was right; Rukia and Ichigo's presence seemed to bolster the Underworld's defense, and slowly the demon numbers waned. Soon enough, the last demon, a particularly large Specter, fell in a heap, turning to dust as the Underworld soldiers cheered.

"Well done. Everyone back to your original tasks. I will guard the portal until it is fully closed, and I expect that once it is, this outpost be close to full functionality."

A chorus of affirmatives rang through the air, and the remaining men and women scattered, assisting the wounded back to the base.

Rukia, however, remained, even as the last soldier slipped out of sight.

Ichigo was nowhere to be seen.

Something just wasn't right, and Rukia felt she knew what exactly was the problem. She strode forward, patting down the front of the many-pocketed Underworld vest to rid herself of some shards of Legion bone that had yet to disintegrate.

Silas looked at Rukia questioningly as she approached.

"Is something the matter?" he inquired.

Rukia took a deep breath…

…and raised her Zanpakuto to Silas's throat.

"You are _not_ Silas."


	20. It's Showtime

No intro. Just dive in.

Mood Music:

Infected Mushroom – None of this is Real

Sagisu Shiro – BL_36

Hollowed

**Chapter 19 – It's Showtime**

Silas blinked.

"Have you gone mad, Rukia? What exactly have I done to deserve such animosity?" he enunciated, taking a step back.

Rukia stepped forward with him. "Don't play stupid. I know you aren't him."

"On what grounds?" he asked carefully, eyeing the white blade aimed for his throat.

"You told Ichigo and me to stay out of sight so Mathis wouldn't see us. Everything we've done in the past few hours has been to facilitate that, but apparently you ordered us to assist with the fight, where we would be most vulnerable. That was the first clue."

Silas slowly stepped to the side, and Rukia followed, the two of them circling around one another.

"The second clue was the enemy. They were clearly winning, and they were appearing from that portal behind you. If the facility is offline, so is the translocator. If that's the case, based on what you've said about the bridges between dimensions, there's only one way for the Legions to be able to launch such a surgical strike: someone was already here, waiting to give the signal to waiting translocator on the other side."

Silas was wordless, but his eyes were growing less icy, and started to gleam with amusement.

"That had to be you. And once you managed to bring us out, you stemmed the flow of demons to make it so it seemed we'd 'won.' Our arrival shouldn't have turned the tables so quickly. You did it to trick the rest of the Underworld, right?"

"That I did," Silas sneered, continuing to circle Rukia just out of reach. "Anything else?"

"Just one more. Silas has never called me or Ichigo by our first names. He only addresses us by our last name or our full name."

The fake Silas smirked. In a great show of defeat, he slapped his forehead. "Darn! How could I have overlooked something so trivial! Oh well, I suppose you got me. Take me away, officer," he said sarcastically, extending his hands in mock submission.

Rukia swung her Zanpakuto at the imposter, snarling, "Don't screw with me!"

As expected, the fake Silas was able to sidestep her sudden attack with great ease. He mouthed a few words, and a pair of spear-like extensions of ice solidified in his hands.

He stepped forward and swung down with both weapons, forcing Rukia to block, as she had not yet recovered her stance from her initial swing and was therefore rendered unable to dodge.

The spears made contact with her weapon, and Rukia felt herself sink into the snowy ground from the sheer force of the blow.

_Heavy…!_

She managed to break away from him, a little out of breath from the amount of strength she'd had to put into her block. While Silas noticeably hit a bit harder than Mathis did, it was apparent that his speed did not nearly match Mathis's. In an attempt to take advantage of this, she flash-stepped behind him and aimed for his left hip, but found that he was ready for her attack. A pillar of ice erupted from the snow-covered ground, blocking her strike and allowing Silas to swivel back and swing one of his weapons at her, forcing her to backpedal to avoid being disemboweled by the sharp icicle.

He leapt forward, striking with one spear and swinging his other arm out behind him to prepare for a heavy sideswing. Rukia managed to dodge the first strike, and was barely able to stop the second from sending her flying. She was caught unawares by a heavy kick the imposter threw by swinging his body around his now-grounded weapons. The blow sent her careening through the cold air and through one of the turrets on the wall surrounding the outpost. She landed in a heap far away, having been unable to right herself from sheer disorientation. She coughed and rose shakily to her feet. The reinforced vest Silas had given her had saved her from broken ribs, but she could tell she'd be sporting some lovely bruises in a few hours.

"What's the matter, _Kuchiki_?" the fake Silas asked derisively as he rose above the wall on a spire of ice. "Were you always this weak?" he said mockingly, descending on an icy stairwell. The whole thing crumbled the moment his feet touched the ground, leaving shards of ice behind him at his disposal.

Or at hers.

Rukia lunged forward, attempting to take advantage of the imposter's arrogance. Her white sword struck his neck—and stopped completely, stuck against flesh and unmoving. Rukia swallowed her shock and, using her knowledge of the Aspect of Water, willed the largest of the ice shards to accelerate towards the fake Silas's back.

The shard never hit him. It simply melted around his body and reformed again at Rukia's stomach. She froze, feeling the vest in her Underworld uniform parting around the newly-formed needle's razor-sharp tip.

Not-Silas's bared his teeth in amusement. "You didn't know, did you?"

He grasped Sode no Shirayuki _with a bare hand_ and lifted it over his shoulder, pulling Rukia close and sending the shard straight through her vest, drawing blood from the soft skin just above her hip.

"Silas is a master of ice. Your weapon, your spells, they mean nothing to him. And, by extension, they mean nothing to me."

"Then…you're—."

"That's right. I'm a Tenebris Speculum."

The fake Silas's facial features became blurry for a moment before they began to shift into a more effeminate arrangement. He became shorter and slimmer, and his black hair turned to brown, growing to shoulder length. Silas's characteristic suit remained, though it was tighter now and clung to the girl's curvier frame. Her green eyes twinkled innocently, belying the sarcastic demeanor she'd bared for just a few seconds before.

"But I'm more than just that, girl. I'm the _original_ Tenebris Speculum," the girl said, still holding Rukia's sword at bay, "also known as Envy, the Third General of the Seven Legions. Would you like my autograph?"

Rukia felt a chill run up her spine. Envy. A General of the Legions. This was a demon that stood above anything either she or Ichigo had faced. The Major she'd struggled to dispatch was nowhere near as strong as this girl standing before her.

_The Jealous One._

Despite her dread, she was able to maintain composure and her fighting spirit. She would never just give up because her opponent was stronger than her. She held a finger to Envy's stomach and whispered under her breath.

Envy looked unimpressed. "What are you planning, you little—."

"Way of Binding #66: Six Rods Prison of Light!"

Six flashes of yellow materialized around Envy, forming six staves of reiatsu that slammed into Envy's waist with great force. She released Rukia's Zanpakuto by reflex, but did not seem the least impressed by Rukia's kido.

But Rukia was not done. She gathered her strength and began the mantra.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh…"

Streamers of blue reiatsu wrapped around her wrists and coalesced at her outstretched hands. The strength of the kido quickly exceeded the strongest version of it she'd ever cast, and she was not yet finished with the mantra.

"…On the wall of blue flame, inscribed twin lotus…"

Envy seemed to notice the strength of her technique, because she struggled mildly against her six-barred restraint. Failing to budge, she simply stood, expression of unamusement dominating her face again.

"Fine, then. Let's see what you got."

Envy's arrogance caused Rukia's temper to flare, and she managed to mix into the spell a little bit of the Aspect of Water, coloring the energy a much deeper blue than its normal hue. At its highest point of power, Rukia finished the chant and let the words fly from her mouth like bullets.

"…wait at the heavens! Way of Destruction #73: Soren Soukatsui!"

A wave of blue light, enormous in size and densely packed with reiatsu as well as a few streams of extremely high-pressure water, smashed into Envy, almost completely erasing the Six Rods Prison of Light and obscuring her silhouette from Rukia's vision.

The cascade of energy fizzled out, leaving a somewhat charred Envy standing exactly where she'd been before the spell. She was completely unfazed, with only her suit showing signs of extensive damage. She pulled the jacket and tie off, as they were not much more than strips of cloth at that point. She flicked some tresses of hair out of her face and faced Rukia expectantly. When Rukia responded by panting and raising her sword, Envy laughed.

"Was that really your best shot?"

Envy flicked her wrist and re-crystallized the two ice-spears, flourishing them deliberately as she approached Rukia.

_Warriors such as yourself that rely on ranged combat and spellcraft face a serious problem against the Legions and their demons._

Mathis was right. Every fight until now had required her to engage in close quarters combat, and relying solely on her kido or on her newfound knowledge of the Aspect of Water had done nothing but bogged her down.

Too late now. Envy was just paces away from her, swinging her weapons impatiently.

"That's really all you got, isn't it?"

Rukia willed her body to move, but the enormous amount of reiatsu she'd poured into the combination attack had drained her of her strength. It would take her at least a minute or two to recuperate.

Envy let out a sigh, and said, "If it is, then I'm gonna clean you up and get this party started."

"By the way," the general said with a grin. "You've got a realllllly pretty weapon there. I think I'll go ahead and kill you with it."

Rukia watched in dismay as the two spears in her hands melted into nothingness. Then, in her left hand, a sword formed. From the hilt flowed a long tassel of pure white Rukia had come to know very well. Its blade materialized from thin air, as pure and white as the rest of the weapon.

There it was. Another Sode no Shirayuki. Though its blade was noticeably longer, the overall weapon was exactly the same. It wasn't just the physical aspects of the weapon that were identical; Rukia could sense the same reiatsu from Envy that she did from her Zanpakuto.

She suddenly felt weight in all of her limbs, like the strength had simply left her in the span of a second. She fell to her knees and braced herself with her hands, trying to catch her breath. Envy whistled a mockingly cheery tune as she paced around Rukia a few times, as if waiting for her to get up. But the second wind was too elusive; she felt no less fatigued than she did just moments ago.

Envy smirked. "It's such a pretty sword. It fits you. But it fits me better." She raised the sword above her head, aiming to strike the kneeling Shinigami down in a single blow.

This was it.

She was going to die here, wasn't she?

Ich—

No.

She wouldn't call for him.

She couldn't burden him anymore.

The white blade fell, and as she felt it fall towards her, the familiar yet foreign reiatsu becoming heavier as the sword itself came within inches of her neck, she closed her eyes.

"When it rains…**it pours."**

Rukia opened her eyes just in time to see Envy launched away from her by a deafening, unseen force, before her vision was almost completely obscured by a heavy mist.

"Please tell me your legs have simply given out. I'd be very disappointed in you if you'd given up so easily," said Silas from somewhere in the mist.

Rukia huffed. "I was just catching my breath." She got to her feet, having slightly recovered from her sudden expenditure of strength. She wasn't lying…entirely.

"That's better. Get ready. We must dispatch Envy before Mathis finds you."

"Just like that, huh? Sure, no sweat. Not like I've ever fought one of the Generals of the Legions before," Rukia remarked dryly.

"You will be fine, I'm sure."

Rukia looked around her. "Where are you?"

"Just beside you."

Rukia turned to her left and was just able to make out the young man's silhouette through the heavy mist. She raised her sword and approached him slowly, taking care that she wasn't inadvertently walking into Envy's clutches.

Sure enough, it was Silas. His suit was slightly battered, but otherwise in good condition. Perhaps Envy had taken him out of the earlier skirmish before he'd encountered any heavy resistance. More importantly, Rukia noticed that his arms and legs were encased in heavy gauntlets and boots made of a mix of ice and a strange, shimmering material that appeared to be translucent.

"If you continue to stare like that, you'll drill a hole right through me."

"Sorry," she said, turning to face the direction Envy had disappeared to.

Silas stepped forward, prompting Rukia to follow with a single beckoning finger. Out of the mist they strode, and Rukia saw Envy, lying in a crumpled heap under a tree.

"Well, well. Can't say I saw that coming. I didn't expect you to break free from the Dreamseeker's grip so easily."

Silas scoffed. "You underestimate me. There is nothing the Dreamseeker can threaten me with."

Envy righted herself and flourished her copy of Sode no Shirayuki. "Is that right? I haven't met a fearless one until now. Color me impressed."

"I am not fearless."

"Whatever you are, it's impressive." She rose to her feet and rolled her neck casually, as though she'd woken up from an abnormal sleeping position. "Sometimes I wish I was one of my own creations. This copy ability of mine just doesn't compare to theirs in some aspects. If I were just a rank-and-file Speculum, I'd have everything about you down pat."

"Envy, jealous of the abilities of her own handiwork. How fitting."

"Don't be like that," she whined. "Is it so bad that I want to be perfect? You humans all strive for perfection, even if you know perfection isn't something you can reach."

"Perhaps your host is rubbing off on you."

_Host?_ Rukia wondered to herself.

"You know, I think I'm getting tired of the chit-chat," Envy said, expression suddenly blank. "Why don't we talk with our fists?"

With that, she slammed her fists together, producing a pair of gauntlets that matched Silas's in shape and form, except for the shimmering material. She didn't seem to notice, however, or perhaps she didn't care, because she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet a few times before zipping forward, swinging her armored right fist towards Silas at an alarming speed for something so massive.

Silas immediately countered by slinging a right cross, aiming not for Envy's face or body, but for her oncoming fist. His icy gauntlet made contact with hers and smashed it away with a deafening boom. The force with which her fist was knocked aside sent it flying, leaving her right side wide-open. Silas followed up by pivoting his upper body, pulling his right arm back as he used the momentum to hasten the movement of his left.

Envy opened her left fist to catch Silas's attack, and was treated to a million shards of ice erupting from her copied gauntlet. Silas's blow shattered the fake, leaving Envy's hand to bear the brunt of the hit. While she was able to stop it, Rukia saw blood flow in thick rivulets down her arm.

"It seems you don't quite have what it takes to use my Storm Fists properly," Silas said, cracking a rare grin at the sight of Envy's wound.

She smiled back and lashed out with her right arm, intending to snap Silas's still-extended left arm by hammering his elbow. But he was, of course, ready for the attack. He bent his elbow and swung under the strike, hammering her stomach with a straight kick when she missed the overhead swing.

Rukia was impressed by how well Silas was keeping up with Envy. His movements were somewhat sluggish, but he still moved in perfect unison with Envy. On top of that, it seemed that Envy's copies of Silas's weapons were not nearly as resilient as Silas's. No matter how many times she recreated them, they would end up shattering, one after the other.

Despite her apparent disadvantage, however, Envy looked calm. She took the hits gracefully, and rolled with the punches whenever they hit. Her wounded hand was the only indication that Silas had damaged her, and already it had ceased leaking blood and had begun to heal.

_That's right. She's one of the Generals. We can't afford to underestimate her._

Rukia watched as Silas continued to smash her weapons, one after another, until he finally landed a very solid upper on her chest, lifting her body off the ground. A resounding echo of the impact boomed, and Envy's inscrutable expression finally contorted into that of pain. Then she went limp, held up by Silas's fist alone.

He frowned. With a dismissive flick, he tossed the corpse aside and said, "Come out, you coward."

"_Now why would I do that, when I can just kick back and watch the show?"_

Silas dropped his arms to the sides of his body and relaxed his hands. In a slow, concerted motion, he raised both hands, and as he did, a thick mist rose from the snowy ground, just like the one that had obscured her from Envy before.

Then he opened both palms so they were facing outwards and muttered under his breath. A loud pulse of sound erupted from both hands, jarring Rukia with their sheer volume, but, more importantly, rippling through the thick mist and everything that lay beyond them.

Both Shinigami and SIC remained motionless for a few seconds, before Silas turned to Rukia and said, "There's no sign of her anywhere. We need to hurry and get you back inside."

_I don't know, Silas. Are you sure you want to do that?" _ Envy's mocking tone came through the mist.

"You don't leave us much of a choice," Silas responded, looking around. "Why don't you come out?"

"_Again, why would I do that when Ithe show is about to start?"_

"What sho—," Silas began. Then he froze.

"_That's right! The love of my life has arrived!"_

Before either Silas or Rukia could say anything, an immensely oppressive presence smashed down on both of them, driving Rukia to her knees and causing Silas to stumble a step.

"Shit. He is here."

A barrage of psychic impressions suddenly assaulted Rukia's mind, and she clutched her head in pain as the words momentarily drowned out her thoughts.

**Y̠͍̜̩ͣ͑͒̆͂̀O̢̜ͥU͉͚̠͗ ͕̜̗̹̈͊D̘̜̼͙̖ͪ̐̋͊͗̿I͇̲̥̤͌̌̂E̷͖̳̺̺̻͖͔ ̷͎̘͔̬̻̦F̠̭̣ͨ̀̑̓́ͧI̞̭̲̟̞͆̈́͒ͫ̃̌͝ͅŔ̞̪̗̱͉͊̒̏̽S̠̹͙̮̭͑ͣ̐̔̅Ţ̠̊ͧ  
̡͐͐̈́̒̿̌Y̟̯̯ͫ̅ͣ̎̒̔͗͡O͔̫͓̮͔Ù̮̐ͨ̚ ̧̘͍̗̲ͧͯͪ̍D͇̩͖̘̲͚̗̍ͣ̂ͧ̂I̞̳̙͙̳̯Ė̯͚̫̘  
ͥ̀̍̒͊D͉̗̲̥͉̟̎̏̈̕I̽̀̊̿̏̂Eͫ̔̊̑̑  
̮͔̞̀͠D̷͔̬̥͎̣̯͎ͬͣ̂͛͛̆͐I̩̼͙̥̾̀E̳̞͉̯͋͛̓͐̉ͨ  
̪̠͈̩̫͇̇D̆̍ͯ̎̀I̻̰̙͈͎̺̖̔ͮͩͨͩ̄̚Ẻ̲̜͂̈́̈̈́͜  
̈̏̇̏D̶̻̙̬͓͇̗I̸̱͍̙E̞̣͕̤̙̫ͨͫͬ̾ͯ̾  
͔̦̻̃͛̉̋̏ͩ̈͝D̩̱ͯͩͤ̔I̺̺̙E̯͖ͨͯ̃̏̓̍̄͡ͅ  
̺̲͙̙͙ͫͨ̑ͪ̾̅D̻ͮ̇͊͝Ȉ̯͚̰ͬ̅E͚͖̘̱͙͎ͨͯ**

Mathis.

Silas swept his arms upward, causing the thick mist to evaporate. Just in time, as it turned out, as a blurry mass took that moment to hurtle towards Rukia at breakneck speed. She wouldn't be able to block in time—.

Silas reacted quickly, swinging his right fist behind him to deter what was ostensibly Mathis. Mathis didn't stop, however, and barreled _through _the hit, knocking Silas's arm away with hurricane force. The miniscule drop in speed the strike caused him, however, was just enough time for Rukia to raise her weapon and defend.

The force of the collision sent both of them careening backwards, both of them skidding in the snow as Rukia tried her absolute best to brace herself against the heavy attack.

She looked up at Mathis's face…

…And saw _that_ mask.

It was the very same mask from Mathis's memories. The grimacing mouth that angled sharply downward at both ends and the gaping-wide eyes were both black and infinitely deep, giving little indication that there was a human face beneath the grey metal.

The only difference between the mask she'd seen and the mask before her now was that the pinpricks of light that signified the location of his eyes were not the light blue she was expecting, but a deep, crimson red.

_That can't be good._

Rukia winced as she felt the skin on her uncovered hands and face sizzle. There it was again; the air around her had become exceedingly corrosive, forcing her to concentrate her reiatsu around herself to ward off the erosion.

They finally slid to a stop, several hundred meters from where Mathis had first made contact. His bandaged hands gripped her sword tightly, and Rukia felt a tingle ride up her spine, her 6th sense alerting her to an impending attack.

Sure enough, Mathis relinquished his deathgrip on her sword and reached for her with feral drive. Though there was little strategy in his motions, the force and speed with which he attacked was enough to keep Rukia on her toes. She backflipped away, using a hand to spring farther away. When she landed, she raised her fingers and pointed them at Mathis. "Way of Binding #61: Six Rods Prison of Light!"

Six yellow beams of light slammed into Mathis's midsection, and he let loose another scream, voice layered with inhuman tones. He clawed at the six rods like an animal, snarling as he did so. The rods strained under his grasp, but held firmly.

If Rukia didn't know better, she would have thought she was fighting another demon.

Silas finally caught up to both of them, slamming his fist into the ground and propelling himself over Mathis using the combined momentum of his body and the force with which he'd pushed himself off the ground. He landed hard next to Rukia, who immediately asked, "What's the plan?"

"I don't know."

Rukia looked at Silas unbelievingly. "What? What do you mean, 'I don't know?'"

Silas snapped back hurriedly, "Dealing with Mathis when he's like this is never something you can just plan for. In this form, he is the most unpredictable he can ever be. It's like trying to predict a tornado."

"So what do we do?"

Silas thought hard for a couple seconds, his eyes still trained on Mathis in case of sudden attack. Then he said, "Sarah."

Rukia asked incredulously, "Sarah?"

"Sarah," Silas repeated. "Mathis would never harm her. If we can bring Sarah here, maybe she can wake him up. Convince him that what he saw was just a nightmare."

"It's too dangerous!" Rukia protested. "What if—."

Rukia heard a shattering sound and whipped her head back to face Mathis. His chains had come alive, and were methodically spearing the six rods of light that were binding Mathis. The chains struck like snakes, methodically smashing pieces of light away from the bars one at a time until it disintegrated completely. It became apparent that Mathis would be able to move soon, as his arms started to move freely. Already one of the bars had been pulverized, and already the serpentine metal chains had begun working on the next.

"I don't suppose you have anything stronger than that?" Silas asked.

"No," Rukia replied.

"It seems, then, that I'm left with only one option."

Silas wasted no time and leapt over to Mathis in two long strides. At the apex of his second bound, he raised one armored fist and struck downward as hard as he possibly could, aiming for the mask encompassing a better part of Mathis's head.

A much louder _boom_ than Rukia was expecting reverberated from the point of impact, deafening her and even whipping up what seemed like a miniature cyclone. Mathis's chains froze where they were, hanging in the air like a set of morbid party ornaments. As the sound of the heavy impact echoed away, Silas clenched his left fist for a follow-up strike, and swung his entire body to intensify the blow. The icy gauntlet struck Mathis head-on, causing his head to whip backwards with almighty force.

Silas didn't stop. Using the momentum from each wide swing, he swung back and forth, slamming his armored fists into Mathis's face as hard as he could. The intensity of the stiking sounds was so great that Rukia was forced to cover her ears to ensure that her eardrums wouldn't rupture.

After about a minute or so of relentless punching, Silas suddenly stumbled back. His arms shook, and he struggled to move back forward and throw another punch. Rukia heard something audibly crack this time, and she rushed to Silas's side, trying to support his weight as he fell away from Mathis. The ice gauntlets on Silas's hands and forearms glowed a deep red, stained with—

"Blood?" Rukia asked, alarmed. "What did you do?"

Before he could respond, the echoes from all of Silas's strikes, which had been resonating between the trees, suddenly fell silent. There was no fade away, no subtly diminishing volume; the sound simply _stopped._

Mathis raised his head, still tethered to the remaining four yellow rods of light. His mask sported a single crack that quickly disappeared as it repaired itself. The red pinpiricks in its eyes focused on Rukia, giving her the impression that they were staring deep into her soul. Then Mathis let forth a throat-ripping scream. Though she'd heard it before, Rukia felt the hairs on her arms stand on end at the bestial roar, and a deep sense of dread gripped her stomach as her brain failed to identify Mathis's voice beneath all of the screechy, groany, and gritty tones that ripped through the cold air.

The caustic aura blasted both Silas and Rukia in two waves, and as both of them shielded their skin from the overbearing atmosphere, Mathis's chains went back to work even faster than before, drilling through one of the bars with great haste.

"Get out of here…" Silas groaned. "It is you he wants. I will slo—."

Rukia draped one of his arms of her shoulders before he could finish and replied, "No chance I'm leaving an ally behind."

She willed herself to move, and stepped to the right. There was a _swish!_ and both Rukia and Silas vanished in the wake of Rukia's shunpo.

* * *

"We're a ways away from the outpost so I'm sure everyone there will be safe," Rukia said with a pant, checking to see if the coast was clear outside the cave they'd taken shelter in. Once she verified the safety of the grotto, she returned to Silas and tended to his wounds.

His hands were ripped up and broken bone was even visible in some places. His arms shook violently, as the adrenaline rush from the pummeling he'd laid down on Mathis wore off. Rukia had found some gauze and bandaging in one of the many pouches of the Underworld uniform she wore, but not enough to staunch the heavy bleeding.

"What on earth did you do to yourself…?" Rukia asked quietly.

Silas laughed weakly. "My Storm Fists are a combination of my knowledge of the Realms of Water and Sound. I use pure vibrational energy bursts to boost the force applied by my physical strikes. You might have noticed how each time I struck something with my hands there was a sound much louder than what would have normally been propagated. That's the nature of my Storm Fists. And that's why Envy couldn't copy them. As the original Tenebris Speculum she enjoys the advantage of limitless copies of different fighting styles and weapons while maintaining an individual identity, at the expense of only being able to copy what she understands."

"But if I turn up the sound's intensity, I can deal more damage," he explained, raising a hand, "Just at the risk of injuring myself. Physics dictates that a force in one direction must be mirrored in the opposite. So when I hit something with all that power…well. I'm sure you can imagine what could happen."

He gazed at his hand as if it were someone else's. "I struck Mathis with my fists at their highest possible intensity level about fifteen times…and I normally limit myself to once or twice every day. Maybe three if I am feeling exceptionally lucky."

His hand trembled violently as he spoke, prompting Rukia to gently take it in her hands and put it on his lap. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked softly. "I feel responsible. He _is_ after me…"

"Be quiet. It is no one's fault but the Dreamseeker's," Silas snapped hoarsely.

There was silence between them for a few seconds. Then Silas said, "Mathis cannot be allowed to rampage in that form for too long. That something on the very edge of our peripheral senses is edging closer, and I do not believe it is by chance. It is locked onto Mathis's powerful outburst, and I can tell you with great certainty that many Skulls would seek the chance to test themselves against Mathis's formidable strength. The potential collateral damage could be catastrophic, and that is assuming Envy does not have anything devious in mind, which is very unlikely."

Rukia shook her head. "What can I do? _You_ couldn't do anything at your full power—."

"You are sadly mistaken if you believe power is the answer to everything, Kuchiki," Silas said. "Resourcefulness counts for twice as much as power."

Rukia stood up and said worriedly, "I doubt the guy who said that had to face an insane Mathis."

Silas barked his strange, wry laugh again, and responded. "Mathis himself was the one who said that."

Rukia stared at Silas for a moment, and then turned away. The screaming in the distance was getting closer and closer by the minute.

"Do not worry," Silas whispered. "The Creator gave us all an appointed time. I doubt that now is the time for us to go."

Rukia stepped out of the cave wordlessly.

"But be careful nonetheless," he finished.

Rukia nodded and disappeared.

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes.

He bolted upright and looked around him. He saw snow, trees, but no outpost. There was nothing in the distance, and Ichigo couldn't sense anything nearby. Then again, his spiritual sense was comparable to an ant's.

He stood up and suddenly became aware of a presence behind him. He whirled around with his Zanpakuto at the ready…

…and beheld a tall, black tree.

"Just a tree…" he mumbled to himself. "Where the hell am I?"

He turned to walk toward what he felt was Rukia, and froze. The moon was shining brightly in front of him.

Then…what had that white object hanging in the tree's branches been?

Before he could turn to face the 'tree' or run away, something touched his shoulder, and he knew nothing.

He was nothing.

Perhaps he was everything.

He never was.

But he could be.

Every facet of his being was momentarily shown to him, plunging him into a state of existential confusion, before a single directive flooded his mind.

**TAKE ME TO HIM.**

* * *

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who has kept up with the story since its inception, and I extend a warm welcome to anyone who joined along the ride. I hope you guys enjoy what I'm writing, and if there's anything you want to tell me, feel free to shoot me a review or a PM, whichever you think is appropriate. **

**Two things:**

**1. I generally do not base attributes of my story off of anything that already exists (that I am aware of), and only pull from my imagination to illustrate the world Ichigo and Rukia are now engrossed in. There are, however, a few exceptions, and one of them is Mathis's scream while in this berserk form. **

watch?v=rPf6AxeOYPo#t=3m35s

watch?v=rPf6AxeOYPo#t=4m41s

**Berserk Mathis's warcry was one of the first things about him that was set in stone from the beginning, and it was based off of the Kantus's shrieking, throaty bellows. While these two parts of the video I've linked should not serve as a perfect vocalization for what Mathis sounds like, it should give you a general idea of what it was meant to do: instill dread and primal fear in the listener. Take these sounds and let your imagination run away with you.**

**2. I was wondering if any of you guys were talented at drawing. While all my characters are fleshed out in terms of personality, I was never fully able to visualize what they looked like, which may be why some of my descriptions of their physical features tend to either focus too much on a specific aspect or to not focus enough. If any of you guys were willing to give it a shot, I'd be happy to even offer a commission depending on how hardcore you want to go. JUST A THOUGHT, NOT A PROMISE/EXPECTATION!**


	21. Kill The WORLD, Starting with You

**I intended to finish this chapter a little earlier, but some things got in the way. I know it seems I'm pulling a Kubo and dragging things out, but this is a pretty important part for all the main characters, so I didn't want to skate over it with a couple chapters. With that, read on! Please feel free to drop any criticism in reviews or by PMs.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 20 – Kill The WORLD, Starting with You**

**Mood Music:**

**Sagisu Shiro – Nothing Can be Explained (Instrumental)**

**- Fade to Black A06**

**Hans Zimmer – Always a Catch**

I.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

Human.

_No. Shinigami._

Human.

_Turned Shinigami._

Born Human.

_Developed Hollow._

"**Breathe."**

_I…_

_I…_

_I am…_

_Kurosaki Ichigo._

_Human._

Ichigo's eyes opened, and he beheld darkness.

Wrapped in a white shihakusho, Ichigo found that his whole body felt warm and fuzzy, like he was stewing in a hot tub. Zangetsu was nowhere to be found, but despite the fact that he was weaponless, Ichigo felt…safe.

"**Interesting. It likes you, human."**

Ichigo turned his head wildly, trying to discover the owner of the echoing voice.

"I am here."

Ichigo whirled around, hands held up in a defensive stance. A tall figure enshrouded in a billowing slate-grey cloak loomed before him, its hood casting an impenetrable shadow over the stranger's face. A hand, long and spider-like, briefly revealed itself from beneath a voluminous sleeve as the figure waved Ichigo's hands away.

"If I wanted to kill you," it told him, voice soft but resonant, "You would already be dead."

The unknown being slid past him in the inky blackness, prompting Ichigo to lower his hands. Looking around, he asked, "Where are we?"

"Within the World Tree."

Ichigo was puzzled. "The World Tree?"

"Did I stutter?" the figure asked calmly.

Ichigo was slightly taken aback by the rhetorical question. "I just didn't understand. What's a World Tree?"

A gesture, and the hooded being was suddenly standing before what looked like a window to the outside. A white vista could be seen in the aperture, and Ichigo recognized it as the snowy landscape he had been in just moments before.

Then a second window opened. And a third, a fourth, a tenth, a hundredth. Hundreds of thousands of windows became known to Ichigo, and he caught glimpses of what looked like impossible realities; green rain fell upward from the ground in one window while lakes of blue flame licked at crystalline shores in another.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" the stranger asked, stroking the windows as he passed them by. "This is the World Tree. It is the first tree God ever created, and it is tasked with holding together the very fabric of creation. It is the crux of all the different planes of reality, even those that never existed."

Ichigo gazed out one window, unable to comprehend the impossible shapes and colors that he saw. "This is…how is this thing…what the hell is it?"

"Yggdrasil is its proper name. Think of it as the center of all things. Everything God ever created is linked to this space. From here, you could go to any plane of existence, provided you are able to survive it."

The hooded being turned to face Ichigo and said, "As I said, it seems to have taken a liking to you. Most humans would be driven insane once shown all these different planes of existence, even if they were seen indirectly through their respective windows. But you? It chose to protect your sanity. It even went ahead and clothed you in something familiar to keep you warm in what is generally a cold vacuum."

For some reason, conversing with this stranger was nerve-wracking; Ichigo felt a sense of dread creep into his chest from his extremities. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Then why haven't you gone crazy or whatever?"

"Because these realities are not unknown to me."

The moment Ichigo heard the hooded being's words, something in his head clicked into place, and a primal instinct within him told him that the stranger was very dangerous. He reassumed his defensive stance, bending his elbows and knees in preparation for a fight.

"Didn't I already tell you that if I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead? Are all humans so stubborn?"

"If you want me to believe you, show me your face," he said, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

The figure chuckled mirthlessly. "You are a strange creature, Kurosaki Ichigo. What exactly makes you think that seeing my face will prove that I am not here to hurt you?"

Ichigo said nothing, still standing with his fists in front of his face and ready to jump at the slightest provocation. "I haven't met anyone who hid their face from me that was telling me the truth."

"Do not hold me by _your_ standards, _human_. You make the mistake of assuming we are on the same level, and that your rules of engagement apply to me," the figure said, all traces of levity gone from his quiet voice. Ichigo felt a chill ride down his spine, but did not budge.

"But to help you see reason, I will give you something."

With that, the figure reached his spindly hand into the darkness and pulled from it Ichigo's Zanpakuto.

"Zangetsu!" Ichigo shouted, momentarily dropping his fists in shock before putting them back up by his face again. "How the hell did you get that?"

"You dropped it," the figure said dryly.

"I—," Ichigo stuttered sheepishly. _I just _dropped_ it? _he thought to himself reproachfully.

The hooded figure tossed the great cleaver to Ichigo. "It's yours."

Ichigo caught the Zanpakuto and slung it over his back, hand still tightly gripped on the sword's handle. His black shihakusho immediately regenerated.

"While I would require much more than my personal weapon as grounds for trusting a strange entity, I seem to be correct in assuming that it is more than enough for you," the figure said.

"I don't know many enemies that would willingly hand me my weapon," Ichigo replied. He thought about it for a moment and added, "Maybe one, actually. But I don't see how you could be him."

"I suppose I shouldn't expect much more from a human." He turned and motioned for Ichigo to follow. "Walk with me."

Ichigo was hesitant at first, but eventually tagged along behind the cloaked being, who had already begun to walk forward through the pitch black of the strange dimension they were in.

"Are you going to tell me who you are?" Ichigo asked impatiently.

Without turning, the stranger replied, "All will be revealed in due time," and continued walking.

Then, after a couple of minutes, they reached another window that peered into the Russian snowscape. Through this opening, however, Ichigo could see that there were two people locked in fierce combat. He almost immediately recognized one as—.

"RUKIA!" he bellowed, dashing forward and gripping the sides of the window, as though he could somehow jump through and join her. "Who the hell is she fighting?"

"Look closely," the wraith-like figure said, gesturing with a spindly hand towards the creature with which Rukia fought. "You have seen something similar in a realm connected with your own."

Ichigo shook his head, racking his brains for any sort of memory that resembled what the stranger was saying.

"_Get up."_

Something came to him.

"_I said, GET UP."_

Locked in combat, Rukia kept on moving, never staying stationary for more than half a second. The same was true of her opponent who moved so fast that details escaped his perception, but Ichigo kept catching flashes of metal flailing around its arms, as well as streaks of red around its face.

"_Hide all you want, coward. I _will_ find you one way or another."_

For a split second, the window froze, revealing the face of Rukia's assailant. On his face was a metal mask. The obscenely large eyes and gaping grimace were identical in form to those of the mask that Ichigo had seen in his dreams, minus the red eyes.

He had to help her.

"Let me go to her!" he yelled, smashing the window with all his force.

"No."

Ichigo whirled around and faced the stranger. He unsheathed his Zanpakuto and held it at the ready. "So you _are_ an enemy?"

The figure scoffed. "You are quite a difficult individual to reason with, aren't you? By preventing you from going to them, I am saving your life."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. As you are now, you will never be able to survive in a battle with _him_."

With deliberate steps, the hooded being circled Ichigo. "Kuchiki Rukia has already faced a trial of her own. She is working to overcome the demons in her heart, but you have elected to sweep yours away, hoping that somehow you will gain the ability to deal with them later on. That sort of cowardice is easy prey for Mathis. Right now, as he is, think of him more a predator than a man. And you, Kurosaki Ichigo, are the perfect prey."

"What would you know?" Ichigo said through clenched teeth.

"I know many things, human. I know, for instance, that you are struggling with an inner being you call a Hollow."

Ichigo's blood ran cold at the figure's words. "How—."

"And," said he, cutting Ichigo off with the quiet force of his voice, "I know that this is the perfect place for you to finally confront him."

"How?!"

"Were you not listening? This is a plane of reality that connects _all_ realities."

A window floated towards the hooded figure and stopped at his side. Through it, Ichigo saw painfully familiar buildings, piercing through a sky of blue and white at an angle that defied gravity.

"But…that's…" he stammered, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. How was his Inner World visible here? Summoned by a stranger, nonetheless?

"Did you think Yggdrasil was limited only to the physical? I told you, even realities that do not exist are connected to its infinite branches. It stands to reason that even your dreams and the inner workings of your mental world are connected as well," the figure said, opening the window with a slow, purposeful motion of his hand.

In the distance, Ichigo heard a familiar cackle. It took him three seconds to process the sound, before his bodily reaction kicked in and prompted him to pump his legs, propelling him to the side.

Not a moment too soon, as it happened. A white Zangetsu rocketed out of the window at extreme speed, slicing the air where Ichigo had been a split second before.

"It is high time you faced _your _demons, Kurosaki Ichigo," the hooded figure said as he melted away in the darkness. "No more hiding. No more running. Face them head on."

A familiar figure stepped out of the window, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yo, King! How've you been?" sneered his Inner Hollow.

Ichigo held his Zanpakuto at the ready and said nothing.

His Hollow groaned. "Aw, come on, Ichigo. There's no need to be so defensive. Someone else is here to see you, too!"

He gestured to the window, through which a familiar figure garbed in black stepped.

"Old Man…Zangetsu…?"

* * *

It took everything Rukia had just to stay alive. More than once she felt one of Mathis's uncontrolled chains barely nick her face or jangle past her stomach. If Mathis had been fully conscious, Rukia had no doubt that she would be in pieces at his feet.

She didn't know if she should be thanking the heavens that Mathis was in the state he was or not, because even though his attacks were infinitely more ferocious and powerful than when he was conscious, the aura he exuded awakened a primal fear in her that spurred her to move faster and with greater care. Like metal striking metal, the fearsome atmosphere honed her senses, pushing her to her physical and mental limits as she fought. She knew that a single misstep could end with dismemberment, that a single mistimed parry or Realmcast could end with her as a shishkebab on Mathis's chains.

Silas, though badly injured from his attack earlier, was advising her on Mathis's current state.

"_Right now, he is not Mathis. The official Underworld nomenclature for his berserk form is Rage. It is a combination of a part of a spirit he took into his body and the part of him that despises everything, resultant of a traumatic event in his childhood."_

"No need to mince words, Silas," Rukia panted, momentarily catching her breath behind a particularly thick tree as Rage tore at the surrounding trees, blindly searching for Rukia. "I already know about his past. That spirit was a demon, right?"

"…_That is correct. How do you—."_

"It's a long story. I'll explain another time. Right now, I need to know how to beat him."

"_Kuchiki. You cannot '_beat'_ him. No one short of the commanders at central HQ can defeat Rage, and even if they were here…"_

Silas panted, trying to catch his breath.

"Are you ok?" Rukia asked worriedly.

"_I…I seem to have broken ribs. Breathing is becoming increasingly difficult. Listen…listen carefully, Kuchiki. The mask on his face is composed of the metal from his bandages. Even now, after I weakened it considerably, it will be very difficult to break."_

"I noticed," Rukia whispered, sensing Rage shred through the trees somewhere to her left.

"_You must break it now before he progresses along his transformation any further."_

Rukia blanched. "You're telling me he gets worse?"

Another series of jangles and snapping cracks echoed through the air in front of Rukia, travelling to her right. He was getting closer.

"_Yes, he does get worse, but that's not the worst of it; it becomes more difficult to break the mask once he progresses past Rage. After Rage is Cruelty, and after Cruelty is Hate. Each stage is characterized by certain…personality traits. If you see any marked changes, inform me and I will brief you on how much time you have left."_

"Understo—."

She ducked instinctively as her intuition ticked, barely dodging a chain aimed for her throat. The trunk of the tree behind her shattered into millions of splinters from the force of the impact. Quick on her feet, Rukia evaded successive strikes with tucks and rolls. Once again, she found herself running on adrenaline. It felt as though if she stopped moving, her muscles would cease to function and her bones would liquefy, leaving her easy prey for Rage.

Trying to clear some room for herself, she shouted, "Way of Destruct—!"

A chain snaked into view and ripped through the air towards her outstretched arm. It tried to encircle it with wide but speedy twisting motions. Rukia noticed and very hastily cut her mantra short, knowing from experience as well as observation that the chain was very sharp and hoping to crush and shred her arm beneath its iron grip, as it had done to several thick trees not a minute before. With a light flick of her feet, she propelled herself backwards, wincing as the bladed chain nicked her arm before she got completely out of range.

Skidding backwards on the icy terrain, Rukia incanted, "Mass, Flow!" A pillar of water snaked out of the ground and propelled her upwards, and subsequently froze into a solid, massive spire at the touch of Sode no Shirayuki. She kicked off of the top of the tower as hard as she could, sending herself flying upwards while toppling the pillar of ice towards Rage's general direction.

Rukia saw a ripple expand around where Rage was, sending snow and loose debris flying as it travelled outwards across the snow and knocking the white off of snow-laden trees. The ice pillar shattered into millions of pieces, and through the cloud of shrapnel came Rage, chains flailing wildly as he hurtled towards Rukia.

Rukia stepped back to allow herself some room to prepare. She braced her Zanpakuto with both hands and leaned forward. As Rage inched closer and the caustic air surrounding him began whittling away at Rukia's skin again, Rukia waited. At the last second, when Rage was inches from smashing into her Zanpakuto, she flipped forward in the most acrobatic display of swordplay she'd ever pulled off, and slashed at the edge of Rage's mask at the apex of her somersault, imbuing her Zanpakuto with as much reiatsu as possible as the blade skated across the grey metal.

The ice collected on Sode no Shirayuki's edge latched onto Rage's mask and caused it to crack in the same place it had been broken before during Silas's assault, assisted by Rukia's swing and Rage's own momentum. Rukia righted herself in the air and turned to look at Rage.

He hung in the air, breathing heavily. His chains swayed like poised cobras, and his black crystalline hands were clenched and trembling. Rukia had a sneaking suspicion that his labored breathing and shaking hands were not from fatigue.

Rage's next course of action proved her assumptions correct. He turned towards her, the ice on his mask melting as the crack mended itself again, and bellowed his feral scream once more.

The chains flailing around his arms shimmered in the night sky and suddenly turned to liquid. The silver-grey fluid increased in volume as a large portion of the bandages melted away as well. She noticed that as some of the metal was siphoned away from the bandages, some of it was diverted to his mask, fusing with it and extending the lateral plates that had, until that moment, remained flush with Mathis's jawline.

"Silas? His chains are melting and his mask just got bigger," Rukia said worriedly, using shunpo to dash back down to ground level where the trees would grant her cover.

"_Oh no. It's…" _Silas breathed before succumbing to a vicious cough.

"Silas? Pull yourself together!" Rukia said urgently, panting as she fought off the dregs of fatigue festering in her chest.

"_I can't...I'm losing…too much blood…not enough…oxygen…"_

His next cough was weaker and sounded like it had originated from an old man.

"_Listen carefully…Chain Gang will appear…it is…the mark…the weapon…of Cruelty …Mathis has progressed to the second…the second stage…Lead him…to Sarah…we must hope that…the shock will jolt him back…to his senses…"_

"_If he…gets to the third stage…"_

Silas's next bout of coughing was so harsh and violent that Rukia inadvertently shouted into the mic. "Silas! Are you ok?"

His next words, likely his last breath before consciousness left him, were loud and clear.

"_If he gets to the last stage…__**run."**_

* * *

The grizzled old man remained silent, eyeing him carefully like a hawk. He looked behind him at the window. Then back at Ichigo. With deliberate steps, he circled Ichigo, saying nothing.

"Is this another test?" Ichigo asked, eyes still trained on his insane parallel spirit.

"Damn right it is!" his Hollow said with a chortle. "Tell him, oldie!"

Zangetsu came to a halt at the Hollow's side. He sized Ichigo up once more, and the finally spoke.

"It has been a long time since the last time we met, Ichigo. When was that?" the old man thought out loud. "Ah. It was when you…learned Bankai."

The grizzled man paused for a moment before speaking again: "Ichigo. Your Bankai, then and now, is nothing but a placeholder."

Ichigo heard the words, but couldn't process them.

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you heard me, Ichigo," Zangetsu said patiently. "Your Bankai is not a Bankai."

"The reason it functions as a Bankai, and the reason you were able to defeat Kuchiki Byakuya with it is because it was the perfect counter to his abilities. It served as the weapon you needed, the power that best fit the part. I knew the time limit under which you were fighting. I could not grant you your true Bankai in such a limited time. So I gave you a force with which to fight the Captain of Squad 6, who was most likely to be your primary enemy. I molded for you a power that was most capable of helping you save Kuchiki Rukia."

"How's that little hottie doing, by the way?" his Hollow asked derisively, licking his lips. "Haven't got a good look at her since she had that sexy little dress on."

Ichigo almost rushed his Hollow right then and there, but Zangetsu gave the Hollow a look, to which the Hollow responded by making a zipping motion across his lips, though he was still grinning manically.

"But that is not your true Bankai. It was just a combination of parts of both of us, and most of it originated from your Hollow," Zangetsu said, gesturing towards his inner Hollow. "His fighting style was the best answer I had to your predicament, and it was also the only solution I had that wouldn't main you. "

"But because of this, your power is not at its full potential. When you wield your Bankai as it is now, you are utilizing a fighting style that is not your own. It is closer in form and function to your inner Hollow's style. As a swordsman would feel more at home with a sword rather than a bow and arrow, so too do Shinigami fight better with a weapon with which they match perfectly."

Zangetsu beckoned with his hands, summoning Ichigo's weapon to himself.

"I must apologize to you, Ichigo. I lied to you, even though you put your trust in me. Despite the fact that you are alive and well, I had you believe that you had finally reached your full power. To make up for my transgression, let us show you," he said, lifting the giant cleaver with one hand so that it was directly in front of his face, edge out, as the Hollow raised his weapon over his head as he had done when he'd engaged Ichigo in the mannequin factory in Karakura, "what the true nature of your Bankai is."

The darkness seemed to ripple in anticipation as a heavy reiatsu exuded from Zangetsu and the Hollow.

"Ban," the tall man in black started solemnly.

"_Kai," _the pale man in white finished sinisterly.

* * *

She hissed in pain as she administered some sort of liquid salve she'd found in one of the many pockets in her uniform to a deep gash in her leg. Quickly wrapping the last piece of bandaging she had around the wound, she leapt up into the air to resume her clash with Cruelty, as Silas had called him.

Ever since Mathis had taken on the second stage of his insanity, Rukia had not been able to catch her breath for more than a few seconds. Cruelty, in comparison with Rage, was much more methodical in his attacks, though the lack of conscious decision-making in his actions was still evidenced by his flailing mode of assault and inability to lock onto Rukia when she hid herself and suppressed her reiatsu.

Chain Gang, as Rukia had found out, was two weapons that hovered about an inch away from the medial sides of his forearms, coiled into a thick bar of very fine black chain by his forearms and terminating in two different weapons at either end of each implement. Towards his hands were large blades with the same coloration as the metal bandages they originated from, shaped liked glaives but curving farther up than the rest of the blade at the ends with a flattened tip. The function of the blade was very clear: slash.

At the opposite end of the glaives were viciously curved hook-blades. While their function was just as painfully obvious as the blades at the other end of the weapons, Rukia had initially not been able to see how Cruelty would put them to use. It was only when she'd attempted to dash away from Cruelty to gain some maneuvering room that she'd realized their utility; the weapons did not remain static on Cruelty's forearms, and the chain-ropes that served as their 'handles' extended. Shortly after she'd made this observation, one of the hooks had come hurtling towards her from above, while another came from below. It had been easy blocking the overhead swing, but the hook from below had caught her around her right thigh, and quick thinking had saved her from becoming a newly christened amputee.

They weren't limited to ranged use either. Rukia had closed the distance once while Cruelty's weapons had swiveled to allow the hooks to face forward, trying to catch him at a disadvantage. _That _maneuver had earned her a nasty gash on her left arm and a second wound directly on top of the one already on her right thigh, deepening the injury.

On top of the difficulty in dealing with these new weapons was the fact that they were incredibly heavy; a large portion of the bandages had gone into creating them, leaving what looked like rags behind. Rukia remembered how dense the bandages were from her foray into Mathis's past. Their weight didn't seem to matter to Cruelty when he swung them around, but it mattered to Rukia, who was already a small girl to begin with. Trying to block what felt like a three hundred pound knife moving at high velocity was as difficult for her as it sounded.

_How do I end this?_ She thought furiously for an answer, hoping the solution would hit her before the Chain Gang blades or hooks did. She flipped aside as quickly as her body allowed, narrowly evading the reach of one of the glaives. It smashed into the frozen earth with immense force and sent up plumes of snow, ice, and dirt, covering Rukia's line of sight on Cruelty for just a moment. Her intuition ticked again, and she obeyed blindly, propelling herself backwads as hard as she could. Not a moment too soon; Cruelty had chosen that moment to smash into the space Rukia had just vacated.

She reacted immediately. "Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren!"

From the four slits she created in the earth, a torrent of freezing reiatsu raged forth. Once the glacier-like projection struck Cruelty, Rukia leapt into the air and sent a second salvo. "Mass, Glaciate!"

Icy spears materialized around her and hurtled downwards, peppering the newly created floe of ice, giving it the appearance of a pincushion. She knew something of this level wouldn't stop him. All she'd done was buy herself some time before he came bursting out like furious bull. But in that time, what was her next move?

Even as her mind raced to find a solution, the icy tomb cracked and snapped, small fissures spiderwebbing around a single point until Cruelty smashed through, a storming mass of metal and fury.

_I can't even slow him down. _Rukia despaired, unable to think of anything in her arsenal that would even halt Cruelty. She couldn't use her Final Dance; it took too long to take effect on someone as swift and ruthless as Cruelty. Her kido was out of the question as well, as Cruelty had made it a habit to lash out with his hooks any time he noticed he was trying to incant one of her demon arts.

As Cruelty bellowed a warcry and leapt up towards her at inhuman speed, Rukia braced herself. She had no more tricks; Cruelty's incredible instinct was too much for anything she was capable of. She'd have to meet him head-on.

The distance between the Shinigami and Cruelty closed.

Rukia prepared.

And then, just as Cruelty's blades were about to smash into Rukia's Zanpakuto, a meek voice cried out from below them.

"Matty! Stop!"

And stop he did. His whole body froze in mid-air, and he hung from the striking position as his head turned to face the source of the voice.

It was Sarah, who limped over to the remnants of Rukia's Hakuren and fell to her knees, struggling to breathe. Rukia noticed the clouds of condensation rapidly escaping her mouth right away, and put two and two together.

_She ran all the way here? Alone?_

And then…

_Now's my chance!_

Without a moment's hesitation, Rukia raised her Zanpakuto over her head, arching her back to give the blow more force, and swung downwards as hard as she could. As the blade travelled overhead, she added a jet of water to the flat of the blade to increase its speed, and infused icy reiatsu into the edge to help freeze and shatter the mask encompassing Mathis's face.

_CRACK._

The sound reverberated in the frigid Russian air as Rukia's blade bit into the metal of Mathis's mask. Cruelty had turned his head back to Rukia just a split second before her weapon found purchase in the very center of the top of the metal guise. The ice had worked blindingly fast, making the metal brittle and splitting it as the sharp edge of Sode no Shirayuki took advantage of the weakened material.

_CRACK_.

A second snapping sound resonated from the perturbation, louder than the first.

Then, without warning, Cruelty dropped to the ground like a rock. With a loud symphony of cracks and snaps, he disappeared in a cloud of ice and snow. The mist hung in the air like an oppressive shadow, and the silence that accompanied stifled Rukia. After a long duel, she'd finally managed to prevail?

She gripped her Zanpakuto tightly and waited.

The seconds ticked away.

A minute passed.

Two.

The mist finally cleared away, and Mathis's prone form was vaguely visible underneath some crushed ice and powdery snow.

_I got him? _ she thought, more shocked than relieved.

"Matty!" Sarah cried out, limping towards her brother's motionless figure.

Rukia flash-stepped down and grasped her arm tightly. "Wait."

Sarah looked back at Rukia with a desperate light in her eyes. "Why?" she asked accusatively.

"He may still be dangerous—," Rukia tried to explain.

"Matty isn't dangerous! He might be mean at times, but he's not a danger to anyone!" she yelled, voice strained from simultaneous exhaustion and exertion.

Though she was slightly taken aback at Sarah's uncharacteristically ferocious voice, she still knew she had to be careful. "Even if he isn't, Envy is in the area, and she might still have something planned. We need to get you somewhere safe," Rukia said firmly.

But even as she gathered up the protesting Sarah in her arms and began pulling her away, her thoughts began to wander. Sarah loved Mathis dearly; there was no doubt about that. But for her to not know of his berserk form when it even had code names assigned to its different stages by the Underworld was strange.

Sarah clearly knew Mathis when he was younger, enough to be able to say that he wasn't always the cold, robotic man he was now. But it seemed that there was something missing in her memories, a noticeable gap that even she was unaware of. Mathis himself had said that she could not remember their past, so perhaps her memories were either missing or damaged.

Before they'd gotten even three steps away, Rukia felt a powerful presence appear just to their right and whirled around with her Zanpakuto at the ready. Cruelty must have—.

"That was a great show and all, but I can't say I appreciated the very abrupt ending."

Envy stood with her hands on her hips, her mocking grin replaced by an irritated sneer and her eyes trained on Sarah.

"Dammit…" Rukia swore under her breath. She took a step back, keeping Sarah behind her.

"C'mon now," Envy laughed humorlessly. "Isn't it clear that you can't win this? After all, I did almost kill you once already."

"That was your decoy," Rukia shot back. "Maybe the real deal is weaker."

Envy smirked. "I like your guts. But I don't want you. I want _him_," she said, emphasizing the last word by pointing at Mathis's prone body.

"You're not taking Matty!" Sarah yelled almost immediately, voice shrill with panic.

"The hell are you talking about? I don't want the meatsuit, I want the one inside him," she said, practically swooning.

A gleam in her eye alerted Rukia to an incoming attack, but she was too slow. She turned to block from the left. But felt nothing.

The world seemed to slow down; she then saw an icy speartip emerge from Sarah's midriff like a budding flower and the rivers of red that flowed from the incision. Sarah's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

"NO!" Rukia shrieked, swinging her Zanpakuto wildly. By then Envy had already retreated to her original position, leaving Sarah to collapse in Rukia's arms.

"Keep it together, Sarah! Don't you quit on me now," Rukia said, cradling Sarah's head in her arms and holding her tightly. "You have to take care of your brother, remember?"

But it wasn't looking good. The wound had likely hit some vital organs, and blood was starting to flow out freely, staining her uniform red. Combined with the frigid Russian air and her exhaustion from running, Sarah's wound was more than enough to begin shutting her down. Her eyes flickered and her breathing became ragged.

"Matty?" Sarah said blankly, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. "Matty, come back…"

"Come on…keep your eyes open, sweetie," Rukia said desperately.

"Please wake up, Matty," Sarah said, giving no indication that she'd heard Rukia.

"Yes, _Matty_, wake up for me," Envy crooned, eyes fixed on Mathis.

"Everyone's coming to find you…"

But there was no motion from him. He remained where he was, face-down in the drifts of snow and ice.

_Everyone's coming? _Rukia wondered. That must've meant that the men at the outpost were searching for Mathis right now. She knew what she had to do. She eased the little girl's head down to the ground and lunged for Envy. Despite every overtaxed muscle in her body screaming out in protest at the physical exertion, Rukia attacked. She had to keep Envy away from both Mathis and Sarah until Underworld Forces were able to catch up.

Envy was a little miffed at Rukia's sudden assault, but was able to fend her off with ease. As if to mock her, she raised a long, white blade with a flowing tassel attached to the hilt. The copied Sode no Shirayuki drew blood multiple times, and an exhausted Rukia was brought to her knees in a matter of seconds. She no longer had any energy to fight; she'd been running on willpower alone for so long that nothing could move her.

Envy had not even bothered to finish her off; she had simply left her there, panting and trembling on the ground and bleeding from several places. Envy watched Mathis with a hungry impatience in her eyes.

She clicked her tongue out of irritation and muttered to herself. "Maybe the meatbag needs a little nudge."

She walked over to Sarah and grasped her by the hair. She lifted the girl's whole torso off the ground, despite Sarah's pained protestations, and held the false Sode no Shirayuki to Sarah's throat.

"Call for him. _Scream_ for him," Envy said threateningly, eyes trained on Mathis the whole time.

"Matty…" Sarah whispered.

"Louder, you little shit," Envy snarled, still watching Mathis like a hawk. "He's not going to hear you if—OW!"

Sarah had stabbed Envy's arm with a small knife that she'd drawn from a pocket. The demon flung her to the ground and removed the knife with little effort. She bore down on the supine girl and furiously yelled, "You're going to pay for that ten times over!"

Envy delivered a kick to Sarah's midsection, which caused her to let out a blood-curdling scream of agony and fear.

Rukia didn't know what happened next. An impossibly loud sound echoed from every direction, and she moaned as a scalding wave of what felt like fire roiled over her. The maelstrom of fiery air dissipated, leaving a heaviness in the air behind. Unable to bear her pain, Rukia welcomed the unconsciousness that followed it. But it did not last long, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Envy's face practically split in half by her enormous grin. She felt a heavy pressure from where Mathis was, and she knew. Even without looking, she knew what Envy was staring so gleefully at:

Hate.


	22. The End

**Sorry I took so long with this update, guys. Just haven't had much motivation to write. I originally planned this chapter to be longer, but I just couldn't put it into writing, so I've decided to put the rest of it off until next chapter. As usual, enjoy and leave a comment in the review section.**

**EDIT: Forgot to add breaks in the story. Sorry about that!  
**

**Mood Music –**

**Shirou Sagisu – Invasion**

**Infected Mushroom – The Gathering**

**Chapter 21 – The End**

"You're fuckin' kidding me with this, right?"

Ichigo coughed up a mixture of blood and vomit and struggled to push himself up off the ground.

_What on earth _was_ that?_

Ichigo had prepared himself for two attacks from both the old man and the Hollow, but he had not expected them to disappear. It threw him off, and he'd spent a few seconds whipping his head to and fro, trying to see where they'd gone.

It had taken that moment to strike. An armor-clad being whose face was concealed beneath a familiar ivory mask leapt into Ichigo and had pummelled him before he'd even had a chance to defend himself. He remembered wildly swinging twice in an attempt to land a lucky hit, and subsequently being put down without much effort.

When he raised his head he saw his Hollow and Old Man Zangetsu standing before him in the same place they'd started. Both looked disappointed.

"It seems you are not yet ready, Ichigo," the old man said. "As I thought, that three day training session was not nearly enough for you to prepare for your true strength."

"Yeah, King. You're a hell of a lot more pathetic than I thought you were." The grin on the Inner Hollow's face became more pronounced. "Better abandon any thoughts of being able to keep me out."

"W—wait…" Ichigo said weakly. "I can't let you leave—."

But a blink later and they had already vanished. Ichigo found himself alone in the dark, weak and confused.

For a few seconds Ichigo lay there, cursing his ineptitude, and would probably have continued to do so if a voice hadn't jolted him out of his reverie.

"Right on time."

Ichigo keeled over on his back and saw the hooded figure looming over him.

"What do you mean by that…?" Ichigo panted irritably.

"I told you you were no match for Mathis as you were now. There was no better way to show you than to…well…_show_ you. If you cannot even defeat your companionate spirits, what hope do you have against that creature?"

"But…Rukia…"

"Will live."

Ichigo's eyes opened wide. "How do you—."

"It is my duty to know," the hodded being whispered, gliding around the supine human with great deliberation.

Ichigo frowned at his words. "What do you mean by that?"

"All in due time, child."

"Why? Why can't you just tell me now?" Ichigo demanded. "I can't do this mysterious mentor bullcrap! Who the hell are you?"

The hooded figure turned to look at him. For three seconds the figure stared at him, and then he disappeared.

"Hey! Where—."

Ichigo flinched. It had materialized mere inches from him, its unseen face parallel with his.

"Because when you learn what I am, you will wish you had not."

And then it disappeared again, reappearing where it had been moments before. Ichigo released the breath he had unconsciously been holding. A stench lingered with him, and it tickled a memory of something he'd forgotten. A feeling of…of what?

"It is time for you to go."

"Wait. What?!"

A black branch creaked forward and caught Ichigo around his waist. Before he could get a good grip on wherever he was, he was dragged backwards with almighty force. As he flew out of the inky blackness into a bright white canvas, he heard the hooded figure's voice once more.

"**We will meet again."**

* * *

At first there was little more than silence. Envy's panting breath and Sarah's labored breathing were all that Rukia heard aside from her own inhalations.

A strange grey pall hung around Hate, and the glowing pinpricks in his eyes were unlit, leaving the holes of the mask's gaping eye sockets empty and pitch black.

_If he gets to the last stage, _**run**_**.**_

Rukia remembered Silas's words with a chill and struggled to get to her feet, but crumpled almost immediately. Her legs wouldn't support her anymore, and her arms shook badly as she tried to push her up off the ground before folding under her body weight, fatigue finally victorious. She watched helplessly as Envy took a step forward. She was…blushing?

"Wrath? Is that…is that you?" she asked meekly, sounding suddenly like a schoolgirl.

_Wrath?_

Rukia braced for an attack or another deafening blast of sound.

…

Envy tried again, this time a little more insistent. "Are you there? It's me, Envy."

Rukia heard a deep thrum and covered her head, still expecting the worst. But when nothing happened, she peeked out from beneath her arms and watched Hate. Two small, white dots appeared in the mask's gaping eye sockets.

Envy frowned. "You're not Wrath…Who the hell are you? Where is Wrath?"

At the sound of Envy's voice, Hate looked up—and turned to lock gazes with Rukia. His gaze was piercing, sending a chill up her spine. To her alarm, the white eyes slowly turned blood red, vibrant with ruby light. Something about the light enthralled Rukia while simultaneously instilling a deep dread within her core, and she couldn't look away despite her best efforts.

"Don't ignore me, you little shit!" Envy snapped. She disappeared and reappeared behind Hate, wielding a great-axe and swinging the giant weapon down with enormous force.

Hate didn't budge. The axe had come to a stop several inches from Hate; it seemed the greyish mist that was hanging around him had become much denser between the axe and his back. A hiss of air and the sound of metal grating on metal shrieked loudly as Envy's weapon was blown away at extreme velocity. Envy herself was propelled away alongside her weapon, tumbling to a halt several feet away in the snow.

A shuddering breath of anticipation escaped the mask, and Rukia tried her best to push herself up again, all the while keeping her eyes on Hate. She didn't expect what happened next.

He vanished and reappeared just over her. As usual, his method of movement made it so she was unable to track him when he moved from one point to another, but this time it seemed almost like he was in two places at once, even if it was just for a nano-second. A crystalline hand gripped her shoulder tightly and pulled with harsh force, flipping her face-up. Rukia barely had time to clench her teeth and tense her belly before Hate slammed his left fist down into her gut. Rukia coughed and gagged, almost vomiting right then and there from a nasty combination of exhaustion and the physical force of the blow.

Then Hate ripped Sode no Shirayuki from Rukia's hand and plunged it into Rukia's thigh, almost shattering her femur as the white blade glanced off it. Rukia screamed; the pain was so intense that she almost passed out, but strong enough that it kept her conscious, submerging her in a strange trance in between mental clarity and total obfuscation. In her agonized delirium, Rukia reached for the blade and tried to pull it out, only to find that Hate had driven it through her thigh and _into_ the ground, pinning her in place.

Almost completely incapacitated, Rukia sluggishly looked up at Hate, who glowered at her for several seconds before turning to face Envy. She could almost hear the unspoken words: _I will deal with you later._

Envy had gotten to her feet, expression betraying her astonishment. She pulled the axe up with her and dismissed it in a cloud of metallic dust.

"You're not Wrath." Envy said slowly. She snapped her fingers. "You must still be the meatbag. Jericho. But that's an interesting form, human. Think it's enough to beat me?"

An inhuman growl rumbled through the air. A shudder wormed its way through Rukia's body, and she knew it had nothing to do with the cold or her wounded leg. The sound had not been anywhere near as loud as his past wordless discourses, but there was more purpose in it, more of a darker intent than of simple animalistic drive.

Envy must have detected the danger, as she chose that moment to summon minions to her side. A pool of black spread around her feet, and from it she raised four Tenebris Speculi.

"Kill him," Envy commanded.

The four Speculi shimmered, attempting to copy Hate. Their outlines wavered in the tundra momentarily, but after a couple of seconds, the first Speculum burst into flames and disappeared into nothingness. Its compatriots noticed this and panicked before they too disappeared in spontaneous conflagration.

Hate had not moved a single muscle.

"Too much for Speculi? Interesting," Envy murmured to herself. She snapped her fingers and a portal opened behind her. Rukia caught a glimpse of sand and a dark sky before the portal was obscured by the mass of demons that poured out. An army of the creatures, ranging from Minors to Hunter-Killers and even a pair of Majors with four accompanying Ironclads, flanked Envy, snarling and snapping in anticipation.

_How many—?_

"Attack!"

The demon horde bellowed in unison, but before they charged, an intensifying chorus of unearthly whispers rustled through the air. Each demon stopped what it was doing to identify the source of the murmurs.

Rukia looked towards Hate and watched as his arms lit up with a bright white glow. On the black crystal were silver runes that had been previously invisible. They were of a language beyond Rukia's comprehension, similar in form to Hell Runes but different in arrangement and composition. One by one, the runes turned blood-red, just as Hate's eyes had done. When the last one had turned crimson, two black objects materialized by his forearms like Chain Gang had done earlier with a loud snap.

It was clear that they were weapons, but they were of completely different make and style from Chain Gang. Each was a single, contiguous piece of black crystal, just like the material Mathis's arms looked to be composed of. An obtuse triangle rested against his forearm, one end longer and more tapered than the other and jutting out past the elbow. From the wide angle of the triangle sprouted a formation that angled back towards his elbow before curling back and running alongside the shorter end of the triangle's edge, extending forward in a tusk-like blade. Rukia could only equate the appearance of the weapon with a playing card's 'Spade' symbol cut in half, with the resultant shape's inside being hollowed out and the small 'stalk' at the curved end being reversed.

These weapons looked feral and vicious, more like an animal's claws than man-made weapons. They possessed none of the elegance of design as Chain Gang or the chain-staff Mathis occasionally used did.

On the triangular portion of the weapons a series of red runes appeared before melting into the black crystal. Rukia recognized them as Hell Runes, and despite her pain-induced delirium, she was able to recall a small piece of her self-edification on the ancient language before the runes faded away.

Persecution?

Envy snapped at her minions, "Don't just stand there, you imbeciles, attack!"

The mob of demons lurched into motion, recovering from their stupor. The speedy Raiders and Specters led the charge, with burly Hunter-Killers and Minors following closely behind. The Majors and Ironclads brought up the rear, approaching Hate with great wariness. A good idea on their part, as it turned out.

Hate smashed his weapons together several times as though he were throwing a tantrum, and then lunged forward, swinging wildly and screaming with that demonic voice. The first demons to meet his charge fell to the ground with wet slaps, cut literally to pieces. The somewhat smarter Specters diverted their course upon seeing their comrades diced to little gobbets, intending to flank Hate, but they did not make it far. The moment they came into contact with the strange grey pall that moved with Hate, they slammed to a halt as though they'd hit an invisible wall. Hate made short work of the incapacitated stragglers and turned to face the gorilla-like Hunter-Killers. The muscular demons had come to a stop and paced about in front of Hate, as if unsure of how to tackle their target. One gained the nerve to simply lunge forward, while another ripped two of its own spines out and threw them at high velocity towards Hate.

With a flick of his wrist, Hate decapitated the charging Hunter-Killer, and made no attempt to block the two spines that flew at him. A sliver of grey metal materialized in front of him, and the spines glanced harmlessly off of it. The rest of the Hunter-Killers snarled and charged en-masse. The pounding of their fists and feet vibrated through the earth, jolting Rukia with pain as her sword conducted the kinetic energy and shuddered in her wound.

Again the unearthly roar ripped through the air, causing the hairs on Rukia's neck to stand on end. The bellows of the Hunter-Killers turned very quickly to yelping and was then followed by a deathly silence. Red ichor slid slowly off of Persecution's blades, dripping silently to the snow and staining it dark red.

The Majors seemed a bit put off by now, having seen a horde of their lesser compatriots so easily slaughtered at the hands of a single individual all within a few seconds of contact. Even so, they barked quick orders to their hulking body guards, who charged forward, all four of them swinging their gigantic axes wildly. The two Majors leapt around to the side, hoping to drill through the strange cloud that surrounded Mathis with their burning armor.

The Ironclads stopped dead in their tracks, a strange groaning coming from their armor. They struggled to move forward, and were rewarded with a loud creak that seemed to cause them great agony. They groaned and growled, struggling to fight off their invisible shackles. Rukia became aware of the familiarity of the sounds their armor was making, and realized that it sounded not unlike Captain Andropov's submarine when its hull was flexing from pressure changes.

With a sickening crunch, the armor of one Ironclad caved inward, crushing it into a much smaller volume than Rukia thought was possible and killing it. The others followed suit, falling to the ground like discarded soda-cans. The Majors, who had just managed to skirt the edge of the cloud surrounding Hate, fired up their armor and plunged their hands in. The burning metal did its job in protecting their arms…for the moment. One shrieked in pain as the cloud descended upon its arms and tore into them like they were made of tissue paper. The other quickly extricated its arms from the cloud and backpedaled, putting a little distance between itself and Hate. Hate flickered out of sight and reappeared just in front of the trapped Major and plunged a blade into its chest. The demon died slowly, scrabbling at the weapon in its chest with great urgency at first and then eventually slouching in its death throes.

The final Major turned to flee, but did not get very far. Hate swung an arm and detached one of Persecution's blades, sending it hurtling towards the cowardly Major. It buried itself in the greater demon's back and emerged from the other side, whipping through the air and returning to Hate like some twisted, demonic boomerang. A new, ragged hole in the Major's chest bled and dripped with gore before it hit the snow, dead.

The slaughter had taken less than a minute. What would probably have taken the detachment of Underworld troops that had retaken the outpost at least an hour to clean up had taken this entity a fraction of the time.

_The first of four will bite at the Jealous One. You will save her._

Rukia had no idea what the first of four meant, but it was clear that the Jealous One was Envy, as even her Speculum cronies had referred to her as such. It was equally as clear that if Hate was left unchecked, he would likely murder Envy without a second thought. By logic, it seemed she was meant to save Envy from Hate.

How the hell was she supposed to do that? Even in her top condition she hadn't been a match for Mathis, and Mathis had always held back, blunting his blows so as not to kill her during their spars. It was fairly apparent that Hate had no such limitations, and would jump at the chance to messily end her.

Envy clicked her tongue in annoyance. "If you want something done…" she muttered under her breath.

She flicked her right hand, summoning a sword with an emerald-green blade and a ruby-encrusted pommel. The red jewel gleamed as though excited, and left a trail of smoke as Envy gave the weapon a few practice swings. With her left hand, Envy whipped up a second sword, this one possessing a longer handle with a cloth-tasseled ring. Its blade left wispy after-images in its wake, whistling as Envy swung it around.

Satisfied with her armaments, Envy dropped to a low stance, tasseled sword held behind her and green sword in front.

Hate took a step forward. And then another. Then another. His footfalls became heavier and faster as he picked up speed, and by the time he had reached Envy, he was moving impossibly fast. He leapt up and slammed down Persecution, forcing Envy to take a defensive posture. Before she could counter, Hate let loose an onslaught of swings and stabs that left no opportunity for Envy to retort. His wild attack pushed Envy backwards, and the strain was visible on her face.

For every step Envy took back, Hate took another forward, resulting in a looping dance around the Russian tundra. More than once Rukia saw Persecution nick Envy's skin, but never once did she see a full strike land. This struck her as odd, considering Hate was aiming to kill her.

Then, in her blood-deprived stupor she drew the connection. He wasn't trying to kill her.

Rukia's vision suddenly began to swim.

"Oh crap…" she moaned. She was losing too much blood. She had to do something about her injury, or she'd be dead in minutes. With an almighty tug, she pulled on her Zanpakuto, managing to move it a couple inches. The pain it caused her made her bite her lip in order to keep from attracting Hate's attention. She waited several seconds for the pain to subside and jerked the blade upwards again, grimacing from the pain it sent rushing through her body.

As she did this, she became vaguely aware of Envy crying out every once in a while, the intensity of each vocalization increasing over time. Rukia's suspicions were confirmed:

He was aiming to torture her.

Considering Cruelty had been purposeful in his attacks and movements, it only made sense that Hate was even more so. The meaningful glare he'd given her after skewering her leg only further evidenced this train of thought, as did the fact that Hate had not inflicted any major injuries upon the Sin even when he'd found openings. The final nail in the figurative coffin was something Rukia only just realized: not once during Hate's slaughter of the demon horde had he looked away from Envy.

Silas's words earlier worried Rukia as well. He had made mention of a host, which led Rukia to believe that Envy had taken a human just as Pride had in Mathis's memories. Despite the fact that Pride's exodus from his host's body had killed him, there was no guarantee that Envy's would die if they managed to force her out. That meant that Hate would be potentially murdering an innocent human being.

This would not do.

With an almighty tug, Rukia tore her Zanpakuto out of the ground and out of her leg, letting out a scream of pain as she did so. Subtlety was unnecessary at this point; Hate was so deeply focused on brutalizing Envy that Rukia wouldn't be surprised if a tree fell on him without him noticing. She gritted her teeth as the world went in and out of focus, concentrating on the gaping slit in her thigh with her reiatsu. She chanted the mantra needed to begin the healing process, and breathed a sigh of relief as the kido began replenishing lost blood and repairing bodily damage.

But it wasn't going fast enough. She felt her wounds disappearing, but the fatigue was still there. Her body was willing, but her soul was not. And even as she tried to hasten the healing process, she heard Envy grunt in pain very close by, and turned to look. She was covered in small cuts and a few deeper gashes, most of them bleeding profusely despite their generally small size. Her green sword was nowhere to be seen, and her tasseled-sword was missing its long ribbon and blunted in several places.

The general noticed the damage her weapon had taken and tossed it aside, flicking both wrists as she did so. A pair of identical white swords materialized in her hands, and she whirled them both once before lowering her stance.

Hate barreled forward, slamming into her with great force once again. Envy met the charge this time, however, and drove her weapons into the small gaps in Persecution's blades, locking the two of them in place. Envy trembled as she attempted to maintain the stalemate, and grinned sardonically.

"Can't use your toys now, little boy. What will you do when I do this?"

A flame materialized in front of Envy's face, intensifying with every second. If Hate didn't dodge that, even he would take some serious damage. But even as the fireball grew in size and heat, Hate remained where he was.

It became clear why soon enough. Just as the fireball reached peak size, the cloud that surrounded Hate began streaming around him, coalescing into an elongated metal spine with a blade-link chain leading to Hate's back, where it terminated in a small cloud of gray. The business end of the 'tail' was bifurcated into what looked like a trident without its middle prong. A growl emanated from Hate, and as he vocalized, the spine crackled before a bar of deep red electricity materialized in the gap of the metal formation. It crackled and fizzled, sending arcs of electricity to and fro. Rukia recognized the form of the electricity as Needle Sharp, but didn't recognize its color, nor the intensity with which it crackled.

The blade reared back and—.

Rukia suddenly recalled a piece of a memory.

"_I can't remember everything, but bits and pieces keep floating up and I can't make sense of them. There was a scorpion in one, and in another red rain was falling. I felt…something in each vision. Some sense of…impending doom."_

"_You…will be the first of your allies…to taste the scorpion's sting…"_

The Scorpion.

Envy hastily blasted the fireball at Hate, but it wasn't quick enough. The tail whipped forward and extinguished the flame with a loud crackle. Embers struck the snow and fizzled out quickly with loud hissing squeals. By now Envy had made the attempt to extricate her weapons from Persecution, but found she could not, as Hate had turned the blades in a way that locked Envy's weapons in place.

The Sin abandoned her weapons, leaping backwards to gain some ground. As she somersaulted away, Hate discarded the two white blades and moved to pursue. With two powerful bounds he was upon Envy, who panicked and summoned her copy of Sode no Shirayuki to block the assault.

Persecution tore through the blade like it was made of wet tissue paper, and it was only thanks to Envy's quick reflexes that she managed to sway to the side and avoid being cut in half. Rukia began to lose her cool; Envy's copy of Sode no Shirayuki had been perfect. To see it so easily destroyed like that gave Rukia no small amount of trepidation for what she was preparing to do. Even so she soldiered on, pushing the healing kido to work faster.

General or not, Envy wasn't looking too good. After righting herself, she had taken a solid hit from the tail's Needle Sharp, and the damage was very apparent. A loud zapping noise had reverberated through the frigid air, and Envy had fallen to the ground, clutching her chest and struggling to breathe.

"Stupid human body…" the General panted.

Hate hissed and raised Persecution for an overhead strike. Rukia heard Envy snarl back in quick demon-tongue, and saw a burst of energy erupt from her body, striking Hate full-on in the mask and landing him on his back. The energy did not dissipate, however, instead concentrating into a small orb before jetting away at high velocity.

Envy lay motionless in the ground for a few moments, as did Hate. Then Envy got up and…

"Huh? Where…where am I?"

_Oh no._

Envy had successfully left her host behind without killing her.

Hate slammed a blade into the ground and, despite the impossible angle, pushed himself upright. He rolled his head around, audibly cracking his neck, before approaching the girl on the ground.

"Um…excuse me? Where—," the girl started, before noticing the weapons hovering by Hate's forearms and the vibrant tail-blade looming over his head like a snake. She pushed herself backwards with her hands and stammered, "P-please don't hurt me! I j-just wanted to know where—."

Abruptly, Hate lowered his arms. The girl flinched visibly at the sudden gesture, but sighed a breath of relief when Persecution dissipated. The tail, too, melted away into and rebirthed the grey cloud, leaving Hate unarmed.

Rukia almost felt relieved, but was instantly put back in the red with anxiety when Hate formed a familiar spade with his right hand. Four orbs of red crackled into existence at his fingertips. The girl blanched and tried to back away again, and screamed out in fear when Hate leapt up and landed just over her waist, the full length of Needle Sharp casting an insidious red glow on Hate's mask.

"Wait! What do you want?"

In response, Hate grabbed the girl by her lapels, fell to one knee, and touched the tip of Needle Sharp to her sternum.

She shook her head violently and pleaded with her masked assailant. "Please don't! I didn't do anything! I mean, I didn't mean toAAAGHH!"

She shrieked in pain as Hate took the red bar and slowly, almost lovingly, began to sink it into her chest. Rukia made out a slew of red sparks violently snapping to other parts of the girl's body from where Needle Sharp was lodged. Wracked with spasms, she frantically kicked and struggled, trying to free herself from Hate's iron grip, but to no avail. Just as it seemed she was about to lose consciousness, Hate tore Needle Sharp out of her body.

Rukia felt the last stages of the healing process kick in, and willed it to move quickly, as she watched the girl sob and pant in an attempt to simultaneously catch her breath and beg Hate to let her go. Pity permeated Rukia's sense as Hate ruthlessly drilled the red bar of electricity back into the girl's chest, eliciting another cacophony of pained screaming.

"Stop…" Rukia croaked, still not able to raise her voice. As the green light around her body began to fade, she rolled over and slowly pushed herself off the ground, wincing as the girl let out another blood-curdling scream accompanied by the loud snapping of electricity.

"Stop!" Rukia said, a little louder this time, now on her feet. She felt energy return to her, though the fatigue the past few hours had bogged her down with still lingered just beneath the surface of her skin. She pushed the exhaustion to the back of her mind, and finally made a move. With a pair of agile flash-steps, Rukia closed the distance between herself and Hate.

"I said, STOP!" she bellowed upon reaching Hate. She swung Sode no Shirayuki as hard as she could, aiming to crack the mask with a combination of physical force and reiatsu. She knew it was unlikely that Hate would be so easily dispatched, but she had to try something.

Sure enough, Hate grabbed the Zanpakuto with his free left hand and slowly turned to face her. Dread crept through her blood like poison upon seeing the blood-red glimmers of light in Hate's mask, and she had to fight the overwhelming desire to flee. She incanted Red Fire Cannon and sent a bulb of red reiatsu straight into Hate's mask. As the smoke obscured both of their fields of vision, Rukia ripped Sode no Shirayuki from Hate's grasp. She also grasped Envy's host's shoulder and pulled her as she flash-stepped away. She stopped long enough to grab the unconscious Sarah, and immediately moved again, feeling something just graze her back. A surge of electricity spread throughout her body from the miniscule contact, but Rukia was able to shrug it off and disappear.

The poor girl was wheezing in pain, and could barely recognize the accented English Rukia was speaking.

"Can you hear me?" she kept asking. "What is your name?"

"Michelle…" she croaked pitifully. "Please…don't let him kill me…"

"You're going to be just fine, ok Michelle?"

She laid the girl down next to the unconscious Sarah and turned to step back towards Hate. It turned out that it wasn't necessary: Hate had followed her.

With a wild tornado swing of limbs, Hate descended on the Shinigami.

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes.

It took him a while to get used to the white of the snow and ice surrounding him, and a few more seconds to remember what had happened.

"That bastard!" he swore, whirling around. He noticed then his Bankai had dissipated, likely because he had lost consciousness. He cracked his fists and looked up.

He saw the strange black tree that had been behind him again. Now that he had a better look at it, he was able to make out a vaguely humanoid shape. Its 'trunk' was pitch black, and tapered down in width the lower he looked. At its apex was a pair of whitish shapes that gave off the impression that it was wearing a suit and tie, and just above these strangely colored patches was a white sphere with no features of any sort. Around this sphere were the branch-like appendages, which slowly twisted and writhed like snakes, creaking as they did so.

Ichigo took a step back from the bizarre creature, put off by its strange appearance. "So…you're the World Tree?"

The white sphere must have been a head, because it slowly nodded.

"Egg…Yeg…" Ichigo said with a shake of his head, struggling to pronounce its name.

**YGGDRASIL**

Ichigo stopped fumbling over the pronunciation and looked up at the Tree. Its voice had been deep, and resounded like a gong. It reminded him of Ningen's voice, but did not have the same multiplicity of vocal tones. And it was also…soothing. It felt like a deep melody, and it eased Ichigo's apprehensions with its powerful thrum. It was not at all like the overwhelming directive that had been issued to him before he had fallen into the darkness of the Tree's interior, nor like the cacophonic chorus of Ningen's voice.

"Yggu…dora…silu," Ichigo said slowly, his Japanese pronunciation adding little vowels and syllables to the middle of the name. "Where did you want me to go?"

The Tree raised a 'hand' and pointed in the distance.

Ichigo felt a pulse of energy radiate from where it pointed; a wave of invisible fire roiled over him, forcing him to cover his face for a moment as his reiatsu became accustomed to the caustic aura.

Mathis?

**ICHIGO**

At the call of the Tree Ichigo turned to face it. The entity placed a black 'hand' on Ichigo's shoulder and relayed a message that struck him like thunder.

**I AM THE ELDEST OF THE OLD ONES. I WAS THE FIRST. AND I WILL BE THE LAST.**

**I AM THE END.**


	23. PSA: I'm back!

Hey, everyone.

First off, I want to say that I'm sorry for leaving you guys hanging for the past several months. In short, life caught up with me, so I needed to straighten it out. Now that I've done that, I return to this work. I _did_ promise that I wouldn't abandon it until it was finished.

With that said, I know some of you may have lost interest/forgotten about this piece, and I can't blame you. I can't even fully remember where I was headed with this, so it'll take some time for me to rev up my engines. For those that were with me from the start or clocked in along the way, thanks for being patient. And for the people who are just joining, I hope you've enjoyed what you've read so far.

Here's to a successful continuation of this story.


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